


The Devil and Casey Jones

by RaccoonMama



Series: The More Things Change [1]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW Comics), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Brother-Sister Relationships, Canon-Typical Violence, Child Abuse, Family, Family Drama, Family Feels, Gen, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mild Language, Original Character Cameo
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-23
Updated: 2018-06-21
Packaged: 2018-07-26 07:49:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 32,003
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7566013
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RaccoonMama/pseuds/RaccoonMama
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"She was eight and had a heart big enough for all the world, and she didn’t deserve the hell they had at home."</p><p>Casey's home life hasn't been easy for a long time, but one horrible night sends him straight to the turtles with his little sister in tow. Now he just has to figure out what to do next...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Casey's family life is a reference to the IDW Comic series, with the exception that obviously his dad is not Hun. His sister's name is taken from the old Mirage/Image comics, as Shadow was the name of Casey and April's stepdaughter and Gabrielle was Shadow's mother.

She was eight. All of eight with thick dark brown hair down to her waist and bangs cropped straight across at her brow, making it all the more obvious when she narrowed those wide blue eyes to glare at someone. Freckles were spattered across round cheeks, and she had a little mouth that pursed up to one side just like his when she was mad. She had just lost the top two front baby teeth, and the new teeth were just coming in.

She liked kittens and frogs and mud puddles, rainbows and hockey and green hair ribbons. The stuffed puppy toy she kept on her pillow was named Jelly Bean. Her trapper keeper had a picture of the tortoise her second grade class kept as a pet the year before, right next to the tarantula her third grade class had now.

She wanted to donate her hair to Wigs for Kids, in memory of their mom.

She was eight and had a heart big enough for all the world, and she didn’t deserve the hell they had at home.

The promise he had made to his mother as she lay dying in hospice care was as solid as he could make it: when she was gone, he would take care of Gabrielle. And he would take care of his dad, too: this would hit him as hard or harder than either of the kids.

And Gabrielle… she had only been five when the cancer took their mother away.

She stopped wanting to be called Gabrielle by the time she turned six. She wanted to be called Shadow. So he called her Shadow.

He couldn’t blame her. When it was all focused on him, he could handle it. He had been a fighter since he was young, getting into scraps as soon as he’d figured out he could. Not that he was a bad kid, not really: he was an average student usually, good at hockey, and he tended to only fight bullies who went after weaker kids.

It wasn’t Shadow’s fault that their father hadn’t handled their mother’s death well. It wasn’t her fault that he spent his nights lost in the bottom of a bottle, or that he saw all of his own faults in his headstrong son and took them out in a vicious rage. He’d suffered black eyes and bruises and sprained wrists, but he was a fighter. He played hockey. He’d had worse.

Casey Jones could take that.

But Shadow didn’t deserve it.

Which was why he was sitting with his little sister in her room while she cried, ignoring the sting from a fresh shiner over his left eye, more focused on the rapid swelling of Shadow’s right cheek. Their father had been as apologetic as he could be through the haze of alcohol.

Shadow had just gotten in the way.

He hadn’t meant to hurt her.

She looked so much like their mother.

She was such a good girl.

Not like her brother.

Casey, however, was having none of it. He was glad it was summer break. They could stay with the turtles while they figured out a plan for what would follow. He put her favorite books and toys in the backpack he’d gotten her for her birthday, embroidered with her name, and packed her little suitcase with as many changes of clothes, essentials, and pajamas as he could fit. A few more would fit in his duffel with his own things, and he could use a ziploc bag for toothbrushes, toothpaste, and other important things.

It was still all he could do not to rush back downstairs and pick a whole new fight, but he wouldn’t do that. He needed to get Shadow out of the house and somewhere he knew she’d be safe.

“Hey, Shad, come on.” He gave a weak smile, reaching up to very gently bump his knuckles against her chin. “It’ll be like a sleepover, right? I’m gonna introduce you to some of my friends. You’ll like ‘em, I promise. They’ve got a cat! And you remember April, right? You met her. She braided your hair when we were in the park while she helped me with math. She’ll be there too.”

Shadow gave the tiniest hint of a nod and he tried again to smile. He’d text Raphael and April on the way down, let them know he was coming. Hopefully the shock of seeing four giant talking turtles would be negated by being somewhere as cool as the lair.

He’d have to think of a really good explanation for Splinter, but that could come later.

As soon as he had everything packed, Casey got to his feet, slinging his duffel bag over his shoulder before helping Shadow get her backpack on. Then he picked up her suitcase and took her hand in his free one. He could carry her down the fire escape, and from there… from there they were only a manhole away.

* * *

The younger Jones had been understandably wary about entering the manhole, even with Casey’s assurances that it was fine. Both Raph and April, in their replies to him, had been puzzled by the urgency of the messages, but he only had a little time before good old Arnold Casey, Sr came looking for them.

Shadow’s hand tightened on his in the darker spots along the path to the lair, and he carried her on his back for a while when the floor got a bit wet. His shoulders hurt a little by the time he actually reached the turnstiles into the old abandoned subway station, but… they were here.

As he’d requested in his text, April was the one waiting there, and the turtles were nowhere to be seen. He guessed they were either in their rooms or in the dojo. “Hey, Red. Thanks for helping out.”

“Your message kinda freaked everyone out, Casey. What’s going on- Shadow? Casey, why is Shadow with you?”

“Because shhhh-sewer apples. Sewer apples happened.”

Her brow arched at his sudden change in word choice, but considering the present company, she made no comment. He was keeping his left side turned from her, leaning down to help Shadow slip under the turnstile. He went unnoticed then, however, because April had noticed the large bruise forming on Shadow’s round little cheek. “Oh my god! Casey, what happened to her- what happened to your eye?!”

Casey bit his lip, just watching as April dropped to her knees to check his little sister’s cheek. Shadow’s eyes were still wet with tears, and even April’s very delicate touch to the bruise was causing her lip to tremble anew. “...it was our dad-”

April’s eyes shot up. “Your dad?! Casey, your dad hit you?! He hit your sister?!” She visibly tried to swallow her rage when her tone made Shadow recoil with a hiccup, but now her eyes were fully on Casey. “How long has this been going on?”

“Look, he’s never hurt Shadow before.” He reached over the turnstiles to put down his duffel bag and Shadow’s suitcase. “I keep his attention on me and he leaves her alone-”

“This is a constant?!”

He frowned as he hopped the turnstile himself, refusing to meet April’s gaze. “He didn’t take it well when our mom died, okay? It’s fine. I promised Mom I’d take care of him and Shadow when she died, and I’ve tried. I just… he never hurt Shadow before, okay? So I stayed because of what I promised Mom.”

April gave him a long, hard look, her jaw set, but Casey still wasn’t meeting her gaze. So she huffed out a sigh, reaching down to push Shadow’s hair out of her face. “Hey, Shad. C’mon. Let’s get an ice pack and an ice cream sandwich, okay?”

The girl lifted her eyes slightly, then nodded, one small hand coming up to grip April’s, and she followed quietly over to the couch. The further they got, the more Shadow’s expression shifted from frightened to curious, blue eyes wide. “...where are we?”

“Well, uh… this is where our friends live. You’ll get to meet ‘em in a few minutes. Casey can go get them. They’re really nice. I promise you’ll like them.”

Shadow’s nose wrinkled up at that, leaning back when she sat down on the couch. “They live in the sewer?”

April had to resist the urge to snort at how the look on Shadow’s face made her look like her brother. “Yeah. But you’ll understand why soon. Cross my heart.”

* * *

As for Casey, the first person he sought out once Shadow was with April was Raphael. He headed straight for the second son’s door, knocking a few times and looking genuinely surprised when it flew open.

For once, the oft times hard to read turtle looked worried. His intense green eyes were wide, focused on his friend’s face, though Casey could see the rage building as he studied the black eye Casey had gotten for defending his sister. “What the hell happened?!”

“Dude, keep it down.” He slipped into the room, pressing the door closed behind him. Raph was probably the best friend he had ever had, and if there was anyone he felt comfortable unloading to, it was him. “Look, it’s nothing-”

“Nothing my ass, you’ve got a shiner the size of my fist! Where the hell’s your gear? Here, I’m gonna get an ice pack-”

“Raph, dude, please, at least let April get Shadow settled!”

The turtle opened his mouth briefly, then closed it, and the fury seemed to melt into genuine confusion. “Dude. Casey. Why did you bring your sister here.”

Casey hesitated, and he knew Raph noticed. Finally, he sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. “The old man and I had a fight-”

That got Raph’s red right back up. “Wait. He hit you?! I’m gonna kill ‘im-”

“That’s not why I came down!” Casey let out an exasperated sigh. “I came because this time he hit Shadow-”

If Raph had been angry before, that had been multiplied ten fold now. His broad shoulders drew up tightly as his eyes narrowed to slits, the protective membrane that slid over them in the span of a blink giving them the eerie impression of empty white. “He hit you… multiple times, it sounds like. And now he hit your sister.” There was a horrifying calm to his tone. “Casey? I love you, man, you know that. You’re my best bro. And I am gonna fuckin’ mangle your fuckin’ dad.”

Casey tensed, his fists clenching at his sides. “I know you’re just wantin’ to help, Raph, but not right now. Please, okay? This is such a mess…”

He had already started to pace, and Raph took that moment to glance outside, watching as April tended to someone sitting on the couch. He furrowed his brow. “Why didn’t you tell us? We’re your friends, dude, you can trust us.”

“Because I was scared, okay?! If I told you guys, what if you confronted my dad? Or what if something got slipped to social services? If they took me and Shadow away from my dad, what if they’d separated us? I can’t do that.”

“She’s gonna freak out when she sees us. How old is she anyway?”

“Shad? She’s eight. Dude, you’d be surprised. She’s really smart. Come on.”

Raph glanced out into the main room again, then sighed. “If you say so. I think Mikey’s the better choice for this, though…” He stepped out of his room, keeping his steps quiet as possible and maintaining his distance to try to keep from scaring the girl. “This is a terrible idea.”

At hearing the pair approach, April lifted her head. She’d moved Shadow to sit on her lap, gently stroking the girl’s long hair to calm her down, and she swallowed hard before looking down slightly. “Hey Shad. Company.”

Shadow lifted her head at that, then turned to look over, and her eyes went wide as saucers. She was entirely fixated on Raph, her jaw slightly agape as she stared at him, trying to figure out if she was dreaming or not. “...is that a turtle?”

“Yep. He’s a turtle. Shadow, this is one of my friends.” Casey gave the best smile he could muster, motioning to his companion. “Raphael Hamato. We all just call him Raph.”

For several moments, Shadow didn’t even move. The ice pack she’d been holding against her swollen cheek was long forgotten, and finally she closed her mouth, eyes still wide in her round face. When she spoke, her voice came out as a breathless whisper. “That’s so cool.”

Raph’s shoulders relaxed a bit at that, and he stepped close enough to fold his arms on the back of the couch next to where Shadow was sitting. “Guess it is pretty cool, huh? So you’re Shadow, right? Casey’s told me about you.”

“Uh-huh.” She was eyeing him carefully, blue eyes squinted as she leaned her head back, pressing her lips together thoughtfully. “You look really tough. Your arms are bigger than my head.”

He couldn’t resist a grin, cocking his head slightly to one side. “That’s ‘cause I work out a lot.”  
Casey snorted, rolling his eyes. “He’s a ninja, Shad.”

Those eyes narrowed further and she leaned forward toward Raph again, bottom lip sticking out just slightly as she observed him, little fingers digging into the couch cushions. “Are you a real ninja or are you just a faker?”

Oh god, she sounded just like Casey. His grin widened. “I’m a real, honest to goodness ninja. Cross my heart.”

Seemingly convinced by his confirmation of this information, she nodded, shoulders relaxing as she gave him a more curious once-over, but her eyes stopped on the lightning bolt shaped chip in his plastron. The corners of her lips tugged down slightly as she seemed to tense up all over again, reaching out to press her hand very lightly over the old injury.

Raph couldn’t even remember how he had gotten it, but Shadow seemed transfixed.

He let her be, watching as her fingertips traced the edge, but it was all he could do to keep his entire frame from tensing in rage when she spoke, not looking up at his face.

“Does your dad hit you too?”

He had to let out the slowest, most carefully measured breath ever, stilling the intense feelings of shock and horror that a girl this little would have to ask a question like that. It was a struggle to swallow past the tightness in his throat, to ignore the tension that crept up his arms, through his shell, into his shoulders and neck.

Casey was looking away, tense and surly, so Raph lifted one hand to pat the one Shadow had laid on his plastron. “No. I got this when I was real little, on accident. My dad’s a good guy. He taught me and my brothers how to fight back against bullies like dads who hit their kids.”

Shadow’s eyes drifted away, but she looked back up at him with a tiny smile after a moment or two. “You’ve got brothers?”

“Yep. Three brothers, in fact. I’m the second oldest.”

“So you’ve just got one big brother. Like me!”

“Sure do. And he’s a great guy too, just like your big bro. But let’s keep that a secret between us, aight?” Raph spared a wink, his grin returning. He just hoped she couldn’t tell how it didn’t quite reach his eyes. “And I’ve got two little brothers, too. We’ll make sure you meet everybody.”

The commotion in the pit had finally drawn the attention of the other residents of the lair, and it wasn’t long until he noticed a presence at the edge of his vision. Donatello was standing there next to Michelangelo, but where the elder of the two was observing with cautious hesitation, Mikey was already bounding over, a cheerful expression brightening his freckled face.

“Dude, is this why Casey said to lay low? Who’s the munchkin? Awh, she’s so cute!”

Shadow’s nose scrunched up at that, her cheeks puffing out as Mikey bounded over the couch to sit opposite April, next to her. She looked up at the newcomer with the same careful look she gave Raph, but his enthusiastic smile and completely at ease aura seemed to settle some of her fears. She did give his plastron a careful look, as if checking for any damage similar to what Raph carried, before sitting back and gazing up at his face. “I’m Shadow Jones. Casey’s my brother.”

Mikey’s eyes went even wider. “Ohhhhh my gyah we finally get to meet you. He talks about you like. All the time, little dude. Or is it dudette? Do you have a preference?”

Shadow giggled at that, though she winced when her smile stretched the muscles of her cheek. After a moment, she shook off the unease and sat back. “Whatever you want, I guess. You have freckles!”

“Yep! And so do you, I see. You are veeery clever. Are you sure you’re Casey’s little sis? You seem way smarter than him.”

“Hey!” Casey shot back, turning back to the couch. “Low blow, Mike.”

The youngest turtle just grinned up at him, but that smile faded when he noticed that both the Jones siblings were sporting similar swollen bruises on their faces. He stared at Casey, then looked down at Shadow, who was watching him with a furrowed brow, narrow shoulders curled inward. He was frowning. “So you two’re stayin’ with us for a while, huh?”

Slowly, Shadow nodded. “Casey said we’re gonna sleep over.”

Raph tensed a bit. No one here would have any problem with this, but he hoped Casey had a better plan for the long run. Without some really careful finagling, they couldn’t stay here forever.

Mikey either didn’t realize this or he didn’t care, and he reached up to ruffle Shadow’s hair. “That’ll be so cool! I got all kinds of awesome video games, and we’ve got board games too, and you’re gonna love all my bros. See, we’re both the youngest. We baby sibs gotta stick together.”

As the pair talked, Casey’s shoulders seemed to start to relax again, and he stood a little straighter from the uneasy slouch he’d taken on. His sister seemed intrigued more than scared, and that was the absolute most important thing. “Shadow, this is Mikey. He’s weird.”

“Well I like him,” Shadow retorted, and then her attention shifted to the tall, lanky turtle on the steps. Donnie shifted a bit under the scrutiny as she asked, “Who’re you?”

Casey’s eyes rolled skyward and he grinned, motioning with one hand. “Come on, Don. She’s not gonna bite. Shad, that’s Donnie. He’s a jerk.”

Donnie made an affronted sound, but he stepped down into the pit anyway, offering a smile. “I am most certainly not a jerk, Casey, thank you very much. Is this your little sister?”

“One in the same. Don, this is Shadow. Shadow, Donnie. He’s the resident genius.”

She gazed up at him curiously, and when she saw the gap in his teeth, she grinned, making sure to show her own teeth - currently missing the front two. “I’ll bet you’re not really a jerk,” she stated, matter of fact. “Casey’s just a weirdo.” When he laughed, grinning wider at Casey’s frustrated expression, she leaned back. “So are you the oldest?”

“Nono, I’m the second youngest. The oldest is Leo. Who I think was meditating in the dojo-”

“Was being the operative word.” The voice came from near the back of the lair as Leonardo slipped out from behind the panel door, brow arched. “What’s going on out here? I just checked my t-cell and Mike had sent a text about laying low until- oh.” He blinked, cocking his head to one side as he looked toward the gathering, matching the eyes of the girl peering over the back of the couch. “I… didn’t realize we had company.”

Casey immediately moved to interject. “Sorry about the short notice, Leo- here. This is my little sister Shadow. We needed somewhere to go for a while. Things are kinda weird at home right now…”

Narrowing his eyes, Leo leaned forward slightly. “...you’ve got a black eye. And I noticed your sister’s cheek.” Shadow ducked down a little bit, her own eyes wide and starting to go glassy with tears the instant he mentioned her face, though she kept watching Leo carefully. He seemed to notice this, offering a little smile and wave. “Though… I think maybe we should talk about that later. Hey there. Shadow, right?”

She didn’t speak at first, lips pressed tightly together. Finally, though, she nodded. “Uh-huh. Your name’s Leo?”

“Mmhm. I’ve heard a lot about you. I think we all have.” He sat down on the back of the couch near Mikey, though the quick look he shared with Casey, April, and his brothers indicated no uncertain terms that they were going to have words about this later. “You seem pretty brave. I mean, we gotta look pretty scary.”

Shadow shook her head emphatically, causing her thick hair to whip about her shoulders and head. “No way. You’re all way cool, and if you’re real ninjas, then Casey and me are safe here.” She puffed out her cheeks for a moment, considered, then smiled. “I like it here.”

“Well, we’re glad to hear that,” April finally spoke up, pushing Shadow’s hair out of her face. “Your brother talks about you a lot. So I’m glad you finally got to meet the guys.”

Casey gave a broad grin, reaching out to put his hands on his sister’s shoulders. “We’ll have fun here while we figure things out, Shadow. Promise.”

She was grinning up at him when the door to the dojo opened again, and this time a low voice, calm and steady, drew everyone’s attention to the back of the lair. “Casey. I was unaware you had brought us a guest tonight.” Splinter’s eyes were on Shadow, who had sunk down behind the couch again until only her eyes were showing. “...a word, please, Casey. In the dojo.” When he turned back to the room he had just left, he only said one more word: “Now.”

Shadow shrunk down even further, but April reached forward to rub her back gently. “Master Splinter’s nice, Shad. You’ll see. He just wants to talk to Casey for a minute.”

Hearing what they were saying, Casey gave a thumbs up to the pair before trudging his way back to the dojo.

* * *

Unlike Splinter’s four sons, Casey had absolutely no training or elegance when it came to properly sitting down in the dojo. He knew enough to take his shoes off out of respect, but other than that, he dropped into a sort of haphazard, slouching sit in front of the mutant rat, his eyes downcast. Months before, he may’ve back talked or been generally beligerent in this situation, but now, he just sat in silence.

“The girl is the sister you have spoken so much of. Am I correct?”

“Yeah, sensei.”

“Her face is injured.”

“...yeah.”

“As is your eye.”

“Yeah, so?”

He was rewarded with Splinter clearing his throat rather sharply, an indication that he wasn't going to accept the backtalk. “Would you care to tell me what happened?”

A long silence followed as Casey squirmed uneasily where he sat. What was he supposed to say? To tell Splinter? Was he supposed to just spill everything that had happened in the last three years?

At the same time, Splinter was more of a father to him than his own had been in that same span of time. He sighed slowly, rubbing the back of his head and never quite meeting Splinter’s steady, thoughtful gaze.

“It’s our dad. He- this is harder than I thought, I mean. I’ve never really talked to anyone about this.” He hesitated, rubbing his hands hard against his thighs. How was he supposed to say this? Would Splinter be angry about it? About the fact that he hadn’t shared any of this information with the turtles before now? Before it had come to this? “See… our mom died about three years ago, and our dad took it kinda hard. Sometimes he just… has a little too much and he loses his temper. Usually it’s all focused on me, and I can take that. But tonight he… he hit Shadow, and I can’t stand for that.”

When he looked back up, Splinter’s ears were fully forward, his jaw very tight. He was watching Casey, hands resting on his knees. Something about his expression seemed darker than Casey had ever seen it, and it was several uncomfortable moments before he finally spoke. “You and your sister are welcome to stay as long as you require, but we must try to discern a course of action. I do not wish to see either of you returned to your father, especially if what you say is an indication of his past behavior as well… but my limited knowledge of the legality in this situation could put you and your sister at risk.”

Casey glanced away at that, rocking back slightly. “...yeah. I know. But… thank you, for letting us stay in the meantime. Shadow seems to really like the guys.”

“Shadow is your sister’s name, then?”

“Oh, uh. No, actually her name’s Gabrielle. But she hates being called that, or Gabby.” His shoulders curled forward slightly. “Probably on account of hearing it yelled so much. She decided she wanted to be called Shadow, so that’s what everyone calls her…”

He knew that in general, Splinter was not the sort to use nicknames. Though all four of the turtles used nicknames unless they were calling one of their brothers out, he’d never heard their father refer to them that way in the whole time he’d known them. So it surprised him somewhat when the rat gave a short nod. “It would be rude of me to call her otherwise.”

* * *

Casey honestly was happy for the way that had turned out, though his cheeks were still a bit flushed. He hadn’t really wanted to talk about any of that, and bringing it up left a sick, burning feeling in his gut. But Splinter hadn’t judged, and hadn’t pressed further than what little Casey put forth, so he tried to put it out of his mind.

Besides, the main area of the lair was filled with happier sounds. He could hear Shadow laughing, and Mikey’s utterly dismayed groaning. “You beat me with Peach?!”

“That’s cuz I’m awesome with Peach,” Shadow chirped. “And you’re playing Kirby. Peach is so much better.”

“Ohohoho, Mike. You just got schooled by an eight year old.” That was Raph, slouched on the couch between Leo and April, with Donnie sitting opposite him. “So what is it now, best three out of five?”

He couldn’t help a smile at that, striding over with the most nonchalant expression. “Hey Shad, I don’t wanna interrupt, but I got someone else you need to meet.” As the girl lowered the controller and turned her head toward her brother, her blue eyes grew wide, shifting past him to the sight of Splinter stepping up behind him. “This is the guys’ dad… Master Splinter.”

Shadow was just staring at him now, expression warring somewhere between wanting to run and being utterly fascinated by the sight of a six foot tall rat wearing what to a small girl must’ve looked like a bathrobe. She stared for a moment, then quietly walked over to the couch and picked up a pillow before launching it right at Casey’s head.

He spluttered for a moment, giving his sister such a look. “Shadow Jones, what was that for?!”

“You have all these cool friends and you never even told me about any of ‘em but April!” she cried, most aggrieved. “You’re so weird!”

Leo just rolled his eyes at the pair, looking down before pushing lightly on the back of Mikey’s shell with the heel of his foot. “Sounds like she’s gonna fit right in down here.”


	2. Chapter 2

The first few days of Shadow and Casey’s stay in the lair went fairly well. Casey was quieter than usual, though he still joined the turtles on patrol when he could, staying in only when Shadow seemed too anxious or agitated. It was the first time any of them had really seen Casey with anyone other than them or April, and it came as some surprise to all of them how different he seemed around his sister.

Still, no one brought up the most daunting question: where to go from here. The general agreement, discussed only briefly once Shadow had gone to sleep on the couch that first night (she had since set up her little space with Mikey, who was overjoyed to have a roommate and to “be the big brother” for a while), was that no one wanted the Jones siblings to return to their father. It was far too dangerous, especially since Casey had taken off with his sister in tow that night. Who knew how their father would respond?

Which left how to handle the situation beyond that. If they couldn’t go home, where could they go?

For now, they let the matter rest. Shadow was enamored with the turtles, and particularly with Mikey, who seemed to be able to relate to her closest to her level. Donnie and April kept eyes on the news for any missing persons reports regarding the pair, but nothing. Probably for the best, at least for the moment, but that didn’t mean there wouldn’t be a problem later.

As for Casey, he was doing his best to keep his own spirits up, though at the moment he was sitting on the couch with Shadow in front of him, a hair tie looped around his wrist as he meticulously braided his sister’s long hair. He didn’t even notice April walking toward them till she spoke.

“I had no idea you could braid,” she commented. “That’s… really good.”

He shrugged absently. “Eh. I kinda had to learn. Mom wasn’t around to do it, and Shadow’s hair’s kinda like Cthulhu. I swear it eats combs. What’s up?”

April just shook her head, leaning against the back of the couch. “Not much. I wanted to see how you two were doing, though.”

“It’s so cool down here, April,” came Shadow’s reply. She was trying to keep her head as still as she could, but she was still trying to catch a glimpse of the older girl, a grin wide on her face. “Everyone is really nice and fun and it’s nothing like at home. It’d be awesome to just stay down here forever.” As Casey and April shared a glance, the girl sighed heavily. “But Casey says we can’t.”

He smiled with a weak shrug, tying off the end of her braid with the band wrapped around his wrist. “Sorry, shorty. I’d like to stay down here too but…”

Shadow frowned, flopping back against her brother and tilting her head back to look up at him. “But why? The turtles are really cool with us. So’s their dad. And their dad’s way nicer than our dad.” She didn’t show if she noticed how Casey frowned at that. “I like it here, Casey.”

It was April who leaned over the couch to poke Shadow’s nose. “Because we all still have school. But we’ve got some ideas, I promise. Besides, you’re always gonna be welcome to come down and visit the turtles. You just have to remember that they’re our secret.”

“Psh, I’m great at secrets,” Shadow pointed out, her tone very matter-of-fact. “I won’t tell anybody.”

“Good, because otherwise, we’d have to eat you!” The new voice was Mikey, who had bounded in to drape himself opposite Casey on the couch, wiggling his fingers at Shadow with a huge grin. “All in one bite!”

His response was Shadow squealing, especially when he went to tickle her, and she shoved one light-up sneaker into his plastron. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt, but Mikey flopped over all the same, half lying on Shadow’s shins in the process, groaning about being vanquished. The display set April and Casey to laughing as well, just in time for Donnie to poke his head in from his lab, expression confused.

“What’s got all of you laughing so hard?”

“Mikey being a dork,” April stated, grinning broadly. “Though hey, if he’s dead, more gyoza for us tonight, right?”

As Mikey immediately shot straight again, giving April a terribly pathetic look, Casey took that moment to wriggle back from his sister and stand up. “Hey Mike, think you can keep the pipsqueak occupied for a while? I wanna talk to Don about something.”

The youngest turtle popped off a salute, hopping up to offer a hand to Shadow, just as she was about to form a retort. “C’mon, Shad. Wanna try skateboarding?”

She gave an indignant sniff, but stood up with him all the same, eyes lighting up. “I know how to skateboard, but… it’d be fun. Casey, can I skateboard with Mikey?”

“If you wear a helmet. And don’t go too far from the lair, okay?”

She pumped her fist in the air with a little bounce before grabbing hold of Mikey’s arm, pulling him along with her. “C’mon, Mikey! Do you got a helmet I can wear? Mikey come oooon, you are so slooooow!”

They continued to talk as they finally wandered off, and Casey went to stand. April reached up to catch his sleeve, her expression concerned. “Casey?”

“Promise it’s nothing big, Red. But I wanna see if Don’s got any ideas.”

“Then I’m coming with. Whether you like it or not.”

* * *

The lab was, as it usually tended to be, almost too bright for most people to stand, with the sounds of cooling fans and running machinery filling the space around the pair’s footsteps when they entered the lab. Donnie had moved back for them to enter, then closed the door behind them, frowning as he turned his head toward Casey. “I think I know what you’re gonna ask, and… no, I honestly have no ideas. This is a very complex situation, and there’s little I can do short of breaking multiple laws.”

“You do that already. Like, every night, Donnie,” Casey replied, frowning. “Dude, you know Shadow and I can’t go back. If it was bad before, it’ll be worse now. I kinda get the feeling that kidnapping your kid sister is a quick way to wind up in juvie.”

April’s shoulders tensed. “You’re not gonna wind up in juvie, Casey. I’m gonna talk to my dad and see if he has any ideas too, but we’ll figure this out. We’re not letting you go back there… and we’re gonna do our best to make sure you and Shadow aren’t separated.”

Donnie listened to the both of them for a moment before slowly sitting down at his workstation, flipping open his laptop. “Like I said, the legality of the situation is… well, murky. But maybe, through a combination of legitimate actions and a little… fudging the lines on my end? We can figure out something that works.”

As he went to work, Casey gave a low sigh. “I can’t really ask more than that. I want to, but… damn it, this is such a mess. Feels bad enough. I know Shad’s enjoying herself, but… I feel like I’m letting down our mom.”

“You’ve never really talked to any of us about her,” April murmured, leaning against the workstation as the sound of Donnie’s typing began to add to the other sounds of industry around them. “What was she like?”

Casey hesitated, then shrugged, leaning back next to her. “She was really great. I think Shadow’s a little too small to really remember her very well. She looks more like our mom than I do, anyway. Got her eyes.” He sighed, rubbing a hand over his face. “Before she got sick, she worked as a resident care assistant at a home. Said it was really sad, but she liked helping people out. And our dad-... Dad did a lot for her. He was a ‘banger for a long time, drank pretty heavily before they got married, and actually cut that shit out because of Mom. They’d been high school sweethearts, I guess. He cleaned up, got his GED, got a job as an electrician… he was honestly doing good. And… and he was a good dad. He took good care of us. Never had a lot of money or anything, but…”

Through his explanation, April had stilled, and Donnie’s typing had stopped. He was focused on their friend now, a small frown on his face. “Casey,” he began, tilting his head toward the older teen, “you don’t have to talk about any of this if you don’t want to. We don’t need your life story to want to help you. It’s what friends do.”

“I know, I just… it feels good to get it off my chest.”

“So…” April shifted, glancing at the floor. “Why do you feel like you’re letting her down, then? Your mom, I mean”

Again, Casey shrugged, expression tight. “Because when she died…” He drifted off briefly, furiously scrubbing at his eyes with the back of his hand. “I was sitting in the room with her. With her and Shadow. She’d sung Shadow to sleep, like she always did. And she said, “Casey, you take care of your dad and your sister. They need you more than ever.” I promised. I promised I would. Then she asked me to take Shadow out to the waiting room so she could talk to Dad, and she… she hugged me, and she kissed my forehead, and I told her I loved her and picked up Shadow… took her out… that-...” His voice hitched, just briefly. “That was the last time I saw her. Alive, anyway. I promised I’d take care of Dad and Shadow, and now…”

He lifted his hand to rub at his face again, looking frustrated that there were tears threatening. April put her hand on his arm, her voice soft. “You’re not letting her down, Casey. You did your best for three years to take care of your family. You know your mom wouldn’t want this. She would want you and Shadow safe.”

“I agree with April,” Donnie spoke up, folding his hands on the workbench. “You know she wouldn’t want to see either of you like this. And I don’t think she’d want you trying to keep a promise that was only hurting the both of you.” He reached out to put a hand on Casey’s arm, providing as friendly a presence as he could manage. “You can still take care of Shadow, besides. Your dad’s his own problem now.”

Casey went silent after that, only looking up when April’s hand joined Donnie’s, resting on his opposite arm. Both of them were watching him quietly, worried, and finally he gave a heavy sigh. “I guess. I mean. I gotta do what’s best for Shad, right? Question is, what do we even do now?”

April pursed her lips briefly. “I’d suggest maybe applying for emancipation. I mean, you’re sixteen. I’m pretty sure you can file to be an emancipated minor in this state. But that leaves Shadow. Though… if we pulled some strings, maybe Dad could take custody?”

All three went silent, but before anyone could object, Donnie drew his hand back from Casey’s arm to turn back to his laptop. “That’s not a terrible idea, actually. I mean… your dad knows about us, so it’d be less likely he’d be super up in arms. I’d definitely have to do some, ah… hoop jumping of questionable legality, but it would be worth a shot. Hell, we could get both of you taken in by Kirby. Win-win.”

“Dude, that’s totally illegal,” Casey blurted, but from his tone and the look on his face, he wasn’t necessarily objecting. “I mean. If you can pull this off, Don, then I think it’s worth the risk, but…”

The challenge brought a very nearly sly grin to Donnie’s face as he leaned back to look up at his friend. “Casey, I can totally do this. If we all agree this is the best way to go about this, then April, you should talk to your dad. Make sure he’s okay with taking in Casey and Shadow. If he is, then I’ll get started. It may take some time. There’s a lot of red tape with this.”

April gave a smile, squeezing Casey’s arm gently. “If anyone can do this, Casey, Donnie can. You two’ll be away from your dad for good.” She pushed herself up. “Don, can you do some research?”

“I’m on top of this, April; don’t you worry. That goes for both of you.” He smiled. “Go on, I’ll be out once I find something useful.”

* * *

It hadn’t taken long for both Shadow and Mikey to get bored of rolling back and forth through the narrow sewer tunnels. Shadow did have some skills, likely owing to having a brother like Casey, and Mikey was enjoying showing her some less risky maneuvers. The pair had soon grown rather bored with their quarter mile of empty pipe, though, and Shadow - stuck underground for several days now - was gazing up at a grate above, filtering late afternoon sunshine down on top of them.

Mikey noticed. He sat down beside her, looking up as well, the expression on his face deeply thoughtful. “Are you homesick?”

“Not really,” she replied, sitting down next to him on the skateboard he had provided. “Daddy wasn’t… I don’t think he was okay. Casey didn’t think I saw anything, but… I did. I saw when he had lots of bruises, and when he got hurt and it wasn’t from hockey. He didn’t say anything but I know.”

For a moment, Mikey considered her words, and he was glad that his brothers weren’t there to hear them. Raph was the biggest hothead, but they all would have just gotten angry at hearing what the girl had to say, and the last thing she needed was angry.

She had enough of that in her life already.

So instead he nodded slowly, turning his head to look at her. “You don’t wanna go home.”

Immediately Shadow shook her head, so hard that her braid whipped around and thunked against Mikey’s shell. “Nuh-uh. Never. I wanna stay with you guys and Master Splinter. Casey can stay too and then maybe that’ll be our real home. No more yelling or Casey gettin’ hurt. It’d be like before Momma died.” She sniffed, drawing up her knees so she could rest her chin on them. “I wish I remembered her more. I just remember that she’d sing sometimes, before she got sick.”

“You remember that, though,” Mikey offered softly. “That’s something. And you know, I think she’s watchin’ out for you.”

Shadow blinked, turning her head so her cheek rested against her knees instead, watching him with her brow knitted and lips bowed. “What do you mean?”

He grinned, mirroring her posture nearly exactly. “Your mom loved you and your brother a lot. I can tell, from how you and Casey’ve talked about her since he brought you down. Someone loves someone that much? That love’s kinda like… like a cloud, y’know? Kinda like those rainclouds in old cartoons that’d hang over the character’s heads, but nicer. Maybe pink. But it follows you around. You remember her, so she’s still there.”

Again, Shadow sniffed, but she seemed to be considering his words. Finally, she kicked out her skinny legs and popped to her feet, choosing to gloss over what he had said to her as opposed to addressing it. “Let’s go up there. Can we? There’s a playground no one ever goes to. We can go there for a while. I kinda wanna swing.”

He probably wasn’t allowed. Mikey knew this. But Shadow was watching him, her hands pressed together tightly as her previously deeply concerned expression melted to a hopeful grin and wide, bright eyes. How could he say no to that face?

“Hey, you got it! Here, we can put the skateboards and helmets here. We hide stuff over here when we’re running and wanna come back and get it.”

She followed his instruction to the letter, then held on to his shell as he ascended a ladder to a manhole cover above. From there, it wasn’t far to what appeared to be a rather recently overrun playground, off the path of most people on the street. And with the sun nearly down on such a chilly autumn evening, there wouldn’t really be anyone there to bother them.

What Mikey didn’t know was the proximity of the playground to the home Shadow and Casey had shared with their father.

Not that she had put much mind to it. She was enjoying spending the time with a new friend, showing Mikey how to get the best amount of air on a swing and when best to jump for the “most epic” landing.

She didn’t even notice the figure approaching when she landed, nearly stumbling into a slide, and only jerked her head up when a large hand grabbed her arm.

Arnold Casey Jones, Sr was a mountain of a man. If Casey had inherited any of his build, it certainly hadn’t shown yet. Tall and broad with messy black hair and Casey’s dark eyes. Eyes that seemed so much more sunken and hollow than his son’s, thick stubble, and the distinct scent of hard liquor lingering around him.

He stood there in jeans and a muscle shirt with a firm grip on Shadow’s small arm, watching the girl’s face as her blue eyes went round, all the color draining from her face. “Gabby. There you are. Wh- where you been, pumpkin?”

Mikey had not been paying attention when the man lumbered into view, but he suddenly wished he had been. Immediately he took to some nearby bushes, watching, trying to determine what he needed to do. His best course of action to get Shadow away.

“Daddy, let go!” Shadow pleaded, pushing on the hand still gripping her arm far too tightly. “Please, that hurts! Let go!”

The man jerked the girl a bit closer. “Come on, Gabby. You know Daddy didn’t mean to hit you. That was all your dumbass brother’s fault. You come on home. I’m gonna clean up and we’ll be a family again.”  
Immediately Shadow tried to pull away again, letting out a terrified little whine. “Don’t call me Gabby! Daddy, please, let go!”

Mikey didn’t have any more the time to wait. He leaned back, shooting off a quick text to his brothers to let them know there was trouble, before sliding out of the bushes, eyes an eerie white from the membrane covering them. “Hey! She said let her go!”

He didn't let go, instead turning to face the new voice, and he scowled, narrowing his eyes. Far from being intimidated by this newcomer, he looked shocked, staring at the turtle now facing off against him. “And what the hell are you supposed to be?”

“I’m- uh. I’m her totally awesome and way powerful guardian! Yeah! So you leave Shadow alone, you big bully!”

The man staggered a bit, growling as he shoved Shadow away, probably harder than he really meant to. “I’m gonna smash your head in, you little freak. Come over here!”

The youngest turtle frowned slightly, spinning his nunchaku. “Your funeral, bro. Bring it!”

* * *

The conversation with Donnie honestly cooled Casey down considerably, so when he retreated to the dojo to spar with Raph for a while, he was feeling much less of the sick tightness in his gut that rose when discussing what they were going to do. It wasn’t until a couple of hours later, when they were discussing dinner, that he noticed two voices still missing from the lair.

“...hey. Shouldn’t Mikey and Shadow have been back by now?”

Everyone exchanged glances, especially when Casey began to search. No matter where they looked in the lair, the pair of youngest siblings were nowhere to be found. And they were nowhere near the lair, either.  
Which made Casey, for one, start to panic.

So the search expanded, past the area that usually encompassed “not going too far past the lair.” By this point, everyone was worried. While Mikey was more than capable of handling himself in a situation, exposing Shadow to the kind of lives they normally led wasn’t exactly something anyone wanted.

The concern was further compounded by a text coming through on all their t-cells: a message from Mikey that they’d found an old playground, but they had been found by Casey and Shadow’s father. Casey paled, looking at his friends for a moment, before immediately taking off. The turtles and April had no choice but to sprint to keep up.

Reaching the manhole nearest where Mikey had texted from, the first thing they heard above was a shriek. Casey was up the ladder in a split second, struggling only briefly with the cover before scrambling out and toward the source of the sound.

“Shadow!”

“Casey?!”

The scene in the playground was chaos. No one had really stopped to check on what was going on, with only one street light illuminating the figures below. Mikey was sitting in the grass, looking as though he’d been knocked there, rubbing his cheek with an angry scowl. Shadow was squirming, her wrist held firmly in her father’s broad hand.

“The hell is this,” he was grumbling, looking over toward Casey and the small crew behind him. “You damn slacker. This what you do all the time? Hang out with a bunch of monster freaks? Ain’t surprised.”

If Casey hadn’t been angry at seeing his father there, holding onto Shadow’s wrist like he was, he certainly was now. His cheeks flushed as he tensed, shoulders shaking, jaw tightly clenched. He was glaring at his father, and in that moment, it was impossible to miss the similarities between father and son. Despite stature and build, Casey was his spitting image.

“You’ve got no room to talk, old man!” he shouted back. “She doesn’t wanna be around you so let her go!”

Surprisingly, the elder Jones obliged, shoving Shadow’s arm away from him. She immediately bolted back to Mikey’s side, throwing her arms around his neck as Arnie looked over the assembled teens, clearly thinking better of trying to take on so many at one time. “You better get your ass home first thing tomorrow morning, Arnold Casey Jones. You and your sister. Or you’re gonna regret it worse than you ever have in your damn life.”

No one moved until he staggered away, immediately crowding around Mikey and Shadow as soon as he was out of range. “I’m okay,” Mikey was saying, rubbing Shadow’s back as she sobbed against his shoulder. “He caught me with a right hook. It was a lucky shot- I was tryin’ not to hurt him. Or Shadow.”

The girl in question was nearly impossible to pry from Mikey, but as soon as Raph intervened to pick her up, she turned her clinging to him instead, her thin frame heaving with the force of the nearly inconsolable sobs tearing from her throat, a shuddering sound coming from her every time she tried to draw a breath. He frowned, patting her back as he looked to Casey, who was pacing as he tried not to go after his father. “Casey- Case, yo, come on. Let’s get Shadow home and then we’ll figure this out, okay?”

Casey didn’t turn back to him at first, clenching and unclenching his fists, but after a few tense moments, April stepped over, putting her hand lightly on his shoulder. “Casey, come on. He’s not worth it right now. Your sister’s terrified.”

That seemed to deflate him, and he let out a long breath through his nose and turned back to the group. “Yeah. Right. Whatever, let’s get out of here.”

* * *

As soon as the group stepped back into the lair, Splinter was drawn out of the dojo by the sound of Shadow’s continued sobbing, despite how much quieter she had gotten by the time they arrived. His expression was extremely concerned. “What is going on here? What has happened?”

“Mikey and Shadow were found by Casey and Shadow’s dad, sensei,” Leo responded, immediately heading toward their father. “They’re okay, but…”

Mikey immediately bounded over to intervene. “It’s my fault, sensei. We went topside even though I know we were told to stay close to the lair. I’m sorry.”

Splinter gave them both a long, careful look before looking to where Raph was standing, holding Shadow with a quiet expression drifting between rage and concern on his face. He stepped over slowly, reaching down to pick the girl up himself in a motion long practiced from when his sons had been her size. She hiccuped once in surprise before the tears began to roll down her cheeks again, small hands reaching out to grasp his haori. “...tell me everything that has happened.”

Mikey began, telling of how he had taken Shadow out to skateboard since Casey had gone to talk to Donnie with April. They had skateboarded for a while, but both had gotten bored, and - against what they’d been told - had gone to the surface to an old playground forgotten in a mostly abandoned neighborhood. Apparently they were near a bar the Jones siblings’ father frequented, as he had happened upon them.

The story Leo told nearly intersected here, of the teens left in the sewer noticing Shadow and Mikey were nowhere to be found. During their search, they had received the text, and immediately gone to intercept.

Thankfully, the only injury was some mild bruising on Mikey’s cheek, which Donnie was tending to as Leo told his part of the story.

Through it all, Shadow had finally begun to quiet, though she didn’t let go of Splinter’s haori. He cast a glance down at her, then looked over at Casey. “...Casey. You seem to have something to say.”

“...yeah. Yeah I do.” His voice was tight, eyes focused on the ground. “I’m going back to the house. Tonight. Shad can stay here. But I’m not lettin’ this go on anymore-”

“You will not.” Splinter’s voice was stern, and he shifted how he was holding Shadow. Keeping the girl’s face against his chest, patting her back much like he would have one of his sons, he kept his focus on Casey, and just as the boy was preparing to retort, he continued, “You will not go alone. I will go with you.”

He stepped over quietly to transfer Shadow to Leo, reluctant as the girl seemed to release him. She curled up against the eldest turtle instead, sniffling as she tucked her head under his chin. For Leo’s part, he looked confused. “Sensei, what do you intend to do?”

Splinter sniffed slightly, looking over his sons, April, and Casey. His family. The turtles, April, they could take care of themselves, for the most part, though he was loathe to admit it. Shadow was small and needed their protection. He would not let another little girl be broken by a monster. “I intend to ensure that Mister Jones knows exactly how poor his decisions have been.”

As he turned to head back into the dojo to prepare, Casey blinked, looking around at his friends. “...uh. Is this normal…? I can handle my old man alone, y’know…”

“Like you handled him when he gave you a black eye,” Donnie replied softly, a frown crossing his face. “If sensei wants to go with you, then I’d put good money down that he’s pretty mad. It’s hard to read him sometimes, but…”

Leo was frowning, letting Shadow curl up as close as she wanted. “But he doesn’t usually step in unless he feels like he needs to. He’s not going to be told no here.” He paused, glancing toward the ceiling briefly. “Though honestly there’s never really a time anyone could tell him no, I think.” Sighing, he looked down toward Shadow again, giving the best smile he could muster. “Hey Shad, wanna play something? I think I was gonna play the winner in Smash Bros the other night, and I’ve gotten way good with Ike.”

She gave another weak little sniff, her voice tired and shaky when she replied. “M’still gonna kick your butt with Peach.”

He snorted, heading over toward the couch. Mikey and Raph trailed behind him, with Raph speaking up that he would play the winner of two out of three. Donnie and April, however, remained standing with Casey.

Donnie glanced at his friend quietly, expression concerned. “Are you sure you’re all right, Casey?”

“No. No, I’m not okay at all. My dad kinda just gave me an ultimatum, and you can bet he’ll call the cops if we’re not in that house first thing tomorrow.” Casey groaned wearily, rubbing his hands over his face. “What am I gonna do?”

Frowning, April lifted her hand to grip his wrist softly. “That’s why Master Splinter is going with you, Case. We’ll figure this out, okay? You two are gonna be fine.”

Casey’s response was a long sigh. “I hope so, Red. Because I don’t wanna think about the other options.”

* * *

An hour and a meal later, Casey was on his way back to his family home, Splinter slipping along behind him in the shadows. He’d never really seen the rat in action, but considering how formidable the turtles and April were in a fight, and how much he’d heard of what he could do, he’d assumed he must be an incredible fighter bordering on legendary.

He just hoped that whatever was going to happen at the Jones house wasn’t going to make him prove it.

When Casey opened the front door, he found his father sitting in the old armchair across from it, and the pair matched gazes before Arnie frowned and stood. “Thought I told you to bring your sister home.”

“We’re not coming back,” Casey hissed, his fists clenching at his sides. “We’re not coming back here just so you can yell at Shadow and use me as a punching bag. Not anymore.”

His father frowned, going to get to his feet, but as he stood, his attention was drawn by the tall figure now looming behind his son. “...the hell is this.”

Splinter tipped his muzzle up slightly, whiskers swept back as his ears pricked forward, straight and alert. “I am here to ensure you cause no further harm to your son. Your behavior, Mister Jones, is shameful. No child should fear their parent.”

Arnie sniffed, moving toward the pair. “What, are you the freak parent of those weird little lizards the kid was hanging around? What are you, some kinda dog? Because I plan to kick you like one.”

The instant he went to shove Casey out of the way, Splinter was past the boy and in front of the father, hand coming up to block the movement. His ears had pinned back now, eyes narrowing. “If you know what is good for you, Mister Jones, you will yield before this escalates.”

The elder Jones did not respond except for to draw his fist back and try for the same punch that had floored Mikey, but Splinter only took a step back, catching the oncoming fist with one hand as easily as one might a ball of paper. The next instant was a blur of motion as he shifted his weight and frame, twisting Arnie’s arm behind him painfully.

“The hell are you- augh! You’re fightin’ dirty!”

“Fighting dirty, as you call it, is an illusion. There is no such thing as a fair fight. However, I will not stand by while a monster abuses his children for fear of his own inadequacies. I have trained my sons to be proud warriors, but never have I struck them in anger.” He twisted the arm in his grasp slightly. “You strike your child, blame him for your own faults. You terrify a little girl. Neither of them asked for this horror in their lives.” Another twist. “I will not stand for it. I will not allow it.”

The only reply he got was Arnie attempting to kick his feet out from under him, but again Splinter was quicker, using his tail to catch the man’s feet out from under him, sending him crashing to the floor. He kept him pinned there, arm still twisted behind his back, despite his protest. “You sonuva-”

Splinter gave his arm yet another twist, never far enough to break. “You will not come for Casey or Shadow. You will leave them be while we sort out this messy business. You were blessed with a determined, strong willed son and a fierce, beautiful daughter, yet you take them for granted. You are a disgrace, and hardly fit to call yourself a father.”

Casey took a step back as he watched. He had never truly seen Splinter angry, and though this was probably mild compared to what he was truly capable of. His father wasn’t looking at him, instead trying to focus on the ninja master that had put him down. And he just kept running his mouth. “Like hell, freak! I’ll do whatever the hell I want with my kids!”

Well, at least Casey knew where he got it from.

Splinter just sighed at the show of bravado, shaking his head before he started to stand. This time he dragged Arnie with him, eventually forcing him back against the wall with the ornate jade cane he carried pressed over the man’s throat. Despite how rough he had been so far, he still had not done any real damage. “I will not ask again.”

A moment or so more of struggling later and Arnie let out a tight sigh, ending in a low growl. “Fine. You win. Take ‘em. Gabby’s as fuckin’ useless as her brother if she wants to hang around freaks like you.”

Casey tensed as Splinter shoved away from his father, though he relaxed just slightly when the rat ghosted back over to lay a hand on his shoulder. “He is not worth your anger, Casey. Gather anything else you wish to take home with you and we will leave this place.”

He kept a close eye on the elder Jones as Casey went around grabbing anything he and his sister still needed, including a medical bag and a framed photo. He didn’t even give his father the dignity of a look back as he stepped out, and Splinter followed him in short order, leaving him alone in the house.

What an absolute indignity. What did that old rat know? He’d get his kids back, one way or the other. He just needed time to think.

It was time he had… at least until the door pushed open, revealing a tall Chinese man filling out the frame. “It has been a long time, Mister Jones. I see you have had company.”

“Hun.” Arnie pushed himself up, lip curling up in a sneer at the other man. “Long time since you’ve shown your damn face around here.”

Hun just clicked his tongue faintly, looking around the house. “We have been watching you for some time, Arnold. Your son has been running with those turtles for longer than you think. A tragedy that he should fall in with our enemies.”

Casting a withering glare at Hun, Arnie stalked over to sink into the armchair. “I ain’t been with the Dragons in almost twenty years now. You were just a newbie when I was leadin’ ‘em. Surprised you even remember who I am.”

“I pay attention. Besides, now I am their leader,” Hun countered. “Which, of course, does not mean that you cannot be a part of the family again. You want your children back, and we want to destroy those monsters. Let us help you.”

The room fell silent as Arnie considered his options. He steepled his fingers, heavy brow furrowing, but finally, he lifted his head to look back at the man still darkening his doorstep. “Tell me what you have in mind.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Arnold Casey Jones, Sr. is not a man to be tested... under any circumstances.

Kirby O’Neil was a surprisingly patient man. For all the oddities and uncertainties he’d dealt with in the last year, he still managed to stay at least somewhat on top of his work, and he’d been agreeable to hearing out the situation his daughter’s friends found themselves in. Casey was a bit of a trip. His instinct was to be wary of the young man, but considering what he had been through, he had come across as subdued and almost anxious. The little girl was shy as could be, and the way she watched him with those wide blue eyes reminded him very much of how April had been at that age.

He knelt in front of her when she stopped in the doorway, offering a hand and a smile. “And you must be Gabby. April’s told me a lot about you.”

When her small frame tensed, April cleared her throat softly, offering a small smile. “Dad? She prefers to be called Shadow.”

“Shadow, huh?” The name did sound odd, but he didn’t want to make her uncomfortable. He was no therapist, but he’d heard enough to know that kids in situations like hers really needed more reassurance than they sometimes got. “Well, then, Shadow it is. You and your brother might be living with us soon, so I wanted you to be able to have a look around. Once we’ve got everything sorted out, you and April will be sharing a room.”

That seemed to relax her a bit, and she turned her head to smile up at April, who was holding her hand loosely for the brief introduction. She was honestly glad her dad was okay with this, but on the other hand, taking in a couple of kids from an abusive household was far and beyond not the weirdest or worst thing he’d dealt with. And seeing Casey and Shadow interact with her father, she felt a tight pang of guilt.

It never struck her until now how lucky she was. She hadn’t been much older than Shadow had been at the same time she had lost her mother, but unlike Arnold Casey Sr, Kirby O’Neil had moved on as best he could, doing his best as a single father raising a very headstrong little girl into a doggedly independent young woman. She was certain he must have had his low points, but it was nothing like the Jones kids had endured.

She looked at Casey, standing anxiously behind his little sister, hands resting on her shoulders. Since she had known him, he’d been a fiercely protective individual. He was high-strung and angry, striking out at anyone he felt preyed on those weaker than them, a direct reaction to a father who used him as a punching bag. Knowing what she knew now, that anger seemed almost sad, his aggression an outlet for frustration at not being able to hold up his side of an impossible promise.

He was still that same excitable, energetic, always there for a fight boy she’d met, but just like she’d learned with the turtles, sometimes people could surprise you.

Perhaps it was no wonder he’d attached himself to the Hamato clan like he did… they behaved like a family should. Just like her and her father.

By now, Shadow had begun pulling on her hand for a tour, walking with her to each part of the apartment. She followed her around, mostly in silence, as Kirby and Casey began to talk. She would’ve liked to have listened in on the conversation, but by now Shadow was asking all sorts of questions.

“Have you always lived here? This is a big apartment. Does your dad have a nice job? I like your dad. He’s nicer than my dad. Is it okay for me to share your room? You won’t be mad, will you?”

That last question caught her the most, and finally, April stopped, walking ahead of Shadow to turn and kneel in front of her, hands resting gently on the small girl’s arms. “Shadow, I have no problem at all sharing a room with you. I grew up with no brothers or sisters, so this’ll be really fun for me. We’ll be like sisters ourselves, right? Or like… like a sleepover! Casey’s gonna use the old office for his bedroom, so he won’t be very far away if you need him.”

The girl shuffled her feet a bit, glancing off thoughtfully before her attention returned to April again. “What about the turtles?”

“They know my dad,” April replied, “so they can come up and visit whenever they like. And we can still visit them. Now that you know about them, you can go with us when we go down.”

This seemed to appease Shadow for the moment, and though her hand tightened on April’s as they continued their walk around, it wasn’t until they found themselves in the kitchen that she spoke up again, her grip growing impossibly tight on April’s fingers. “April? Will Daddy be able to find us here?”

A chill ran up the older girl’s spine and she let out a soft breath, considering her answer very carefully. It was tempting to say no, but Shadow was smart. Besides, there was no use in lying to her. “...he might, sweetie. But that’s part of why you and Casey are gonna stay with me and my dad. We can keep you safe if he decides he’s gonna show up. And you’ve got the turtles watching your back now, too.”

Shadow nodded quietly, troubled, but she didn’t press the question. Which was probably for the best. She smiled down at her, then turned a bit as she heard her father speaking behind her.

“So, how do you like the place, Shadow?” he was saying, offering the best smile he could. “I know it’s not much, but I think you and Casey will really like it here.”

Her previous discomfort seeming to drift off, the little girl offered a huge smile, puffing up a little bit. “Yeah! It’s really great!”

Kirby smiled at her enthusiasm, patting the top of her head briefly before standing straight. “Then why don’t we all go out and get lunch? My treat. I think after all you two’ve dealt with… you could probably use the break.”

* * *

Far across town, a good distance from where the O’Neils and the Joneses were doing their best to get to know one another, Arnold Casey Jones, Sr. was in a very different sort of judgement. He stood at the base of a stairway leading up to what appeared to be a throne, where a tall man in shining sharp armor sat, looking back down at him. Behind the mask, his expression was mostly unreadable, but there was the very distinct feeling there that he was being measured up.

The Purple Dragons had apparently come a very long way since his time with them. Never before had they looked to any of the other local crime syndicates for leadership, managing their own with no ties to anyone. He had been informed by Hun, however, that much had changed after Arnie had left. They had taken a hard fall from grace, such as it was, and were reduced to petty street thugs before Hun, who had come up in a branch of the Dragons near Chinatown, had stepped up to take over under the direction of the Shredder.

The Shredder, he was made aware, was the man seated at the top of the staircase. It wasn’t his real name - that was Oroku Saki. But no one, not even his own subordinates, dared refer to him by any part of his given name. No, he was Master Shredder to all of them, and that is how it would stay.

At long last, the man stood, keeping his gaze fixed on the brawler at the foot of the stairs. “Arnold Casey Jones, Sr. Hun has told me much about you. You were once the face of the Purple Dragons, and the reason they were so feared… and yet you left that life for a woman, and for children.” Arnie’s fists tightened, but he said nothing. He wanted to hear him out. “I feel for your plight. I, too, loved a woman, but she was stolen from me by the same man who stole your children away from you. He then stole my daughter away… fooling her into his web much in the same way your son and daughter have been deceived.”

“So this… rat’s got a history of breakin’ up families,” Arnie growled, only once he was certain the Shredder was done with what he had to say. “I’m guessin’ that’s why you had Hun bring me here.”

Slowly, the Shredder nodded, folding his arms across his chest. “Indeed. The rat was not always this way. He was once a man, called Hamato Yoshi, and he is my sworn enemy. For his crimes against my family and the Foot clan, I will not allow him to live. You, then, are a man I see potential in. You too have suffered the loss of family at the hands of Hamato Yoshi and his pet creatures, and so, you are uniquely driven toward this purpose. Help me crush the Hamato Clan and I will see to it that your children are returned to you safely. While Hun now leads the Purple Dragons, we shall see to it that you are given a position of respect within the organization you once helped lead.”

It was an enticing offer. Though he would have preferred his old position back, this was a start. And it was a chance to get back at those turtles and their rat master for what they’d done. If it hadn’t been for them, he was certain Casey and Shadow would have stayed home like good kids. He would’ve gotten it into Casey’s head that he needed to wise up… eventually. The boy was every bit as bullheaded as he was, but that didn’t mean that sense couldn’t be beaten into him.

This, then, provided a very unique opportunity. One he was all too happy to jump on now that it had presented itself.

“Well, then… Master Shredder.” He noted how the man tipped his chin up, but his posture didn’t change. At least not to that of a man insulted or looking for a fight. “I’ll take you up on that offer. I want my kids back… and I wanna see those freaks that tricked them laid low. I’m ready t’be a Dragon again.”

“And,” the armored man patiently stated, “to pledge yourself to the Foot Clan.”

“...of course. Just point me in the right direction.”

He watched as Hun bowed at the Shredder’s vague hand motion, reciprocated the motion himself, then followed the shorter man out. Once he was out of sight, Tiger Claw slunk from the shadows near his master, single eye reflecting eerily in the dim light. “What use is such a man, Master Shredder? His anger will be his undoing.”

“Patience, Tiger Claw,” was the Shredder’s reply. “He is a blunt weapon, little more than crude brute force to be aimed and swung, and a means to an end.” He returned to his throne, settling back with his elbows resting on the arms and hands folded neatly in front of him. “The Dragons will organize a theft to draw out the turtles and their allies. You will go with them, to ensure the plan progresses accordingly. See to it that he can be trusted… and that he will go the full distance if necessary to deal with his… children.”

Immediately, Tiger Claw bowed deeply, good ear pricked forward. “I will not fail you, Master. Your will shall be done.”

* * *

The lair was quiet for a chance when April and Casey returned with Shadow in tow. The girl was rambling excitedly about the day they’d had, how nice Mr. O’Neil was, and how much she hoped they would get to live with April, as all she had was a big brother and she thought having a big sister might be a fun change.

She was still talking, through April’s laughing and Casey’s exaggerated but accepting eye rolling, when Splinter stepped out of the dojo, ears perked as he looked curiously at the trio. “My sons have just left for patrol. I trust your visit with Mr. O’Neil went well?”

“It went great.” April was grinning, reaching over to rustle Shadow’s thick, dark hair. “Dad really took to Shadow. I was almost jealous. Almost.”

Shadow made a face up at the older girl at that, but she was grinning in the very next instant. “It’s okay, I know he’s not gonna be my dad. He’s your dad.” She stopped at that, though, and turned her head to gaze up at Splinter, who gazed back at her with a sort of calm, serene patience, waiting for her to complete the thought that seemed to be forming in her mind. “I kinda wish you were my dad, though, Master Splinter.”

As April and Casey shot one another startled looks, Splinter pulled his head back slightly, whiskers drawn back against his muzzle as his ears tipped forward. That had not been what he expected from her, and it caught him off-guard. It was just as her bright smile had started to fade, worried she had said something to upset or offend him, that he finally returned the smile, stepping forward to reach down and pick her up.

“Let us talk a while, Shadow. April, Casey, if you would like to catch up with my sons, Donatello stated he would text you, I believe.” He waited for them to nod and go to collect their gear before he headed for the dojo, balancing Shadow on his hip. It was a posture he had not taken since his boys were young. “Are you hungry?”

She shook her head, little hands holding to his haori as he walked, having settled quite comfortably into being carried. She wasn’t quite small enough for it anymore, but he was much stronger than he looked, and she was very light. Almost, he noted, underweight. “Nuh-uh. Mr. O’Neil took us out for burgers and ice cream so I’m good.”

Splinter nodded, slipping into the dojo. As soon as he did, Shadow appeared transfixed, her eyes widening as she looked around. Most of her interest rested on the tree, growing beneath a grate that let in light and rain enough for it to thrive. As she was examining every corner of the room with a bright, curious gaze, he was already beginning to speak.

“We have not spoken much since you arrived, except with my sons or your brother present, Shadow. What has brought on your thought that you would prefer me as a father?”

Her attention drawn back, she shrugged, hanging on briefly as he slid her down to the floor. “You’re a good dad.” She stated the fact so simply that it must have seemed like the greatest truth to her. “All the turtles are so awesome and you raised them so you gotta be a good dad. They’re not afraid of you, and you don’t yell or scream or hit them, like Daddy does Casey. That makes you like… a bajillion times better than Daddy already.”

Slowly, Splinter nodded, taking his usual seat beneath the tree and patting the spot beside him. As Shadow sat, cross legged, he let out a heavy sigh. “Your life has been far too dark for one with such light within you, Shadow Jones. Little girls should be free to play and enjoy their youth, as should little boys.” A privilege he wished he could have given his own sons. But their circumstances had not permitted it, and he knew they would need to know how to defend themselves in a world that would view them as monsters. “As such… you should know that you and your brother are always welcome in our home.”

She watched him as he spoke, reaching up to pull her braid over her shoulder and fiddle with the ends. He seemed to her to be very wise, and almost kind of ancient, even if he likely wasn’t much older than her own father. Her brow furrowed for a moment, lips pressing into a little bow shape. “...so… even if we’re gonna be living with Mr. O’Neil… that means you can still be our new dad, right?”

His ears twitched again, and finally he sighed, offering a faint smile as he rested one hand atop her head. “It would be an honor to be a father to a kind girl such as yourself.”

Immediately Shadow’s face lit up with a bright smile, and she bounced to her feet. Any decorum usually used in the dojo was cast aside - though Splinter noted she would not have known any of it anyway, as she climbed up to hug him as tightly as her small arms could manage. He was struck briefly motionless, but after a moment he just smiled and shook his head, one hand on her shoulder as the other came to rest on the back of her head.

The Jones children deserved so much better, and he only hoped their current course could provide that for them.

* * *

When April and Casey found the turtles, they were situated on a rooftop a few blocks away from the old Jones home, with Donnie and Raph perched on the ledge overlooking the street like a pair of mismatched gargoyles, tall and lanky next to short and square. It was Leo, however, who noticed the humans approaching, turning to face them from his spot a little away from his two younger brothers.

“Hey, guys. How’d the day out with Kirby go?”

April smiled a little, leaning on the edge of the roof. “Dad and Shadow got on great, though I think he’s still a little wary of Casey. Can’t possibly imagine why…”

“Hey, I was on my best behavior today,” Casey retorted, hopping up to sit next to Donnie on the ledge, long legs dangling over the side. “Besides, I don’t exactly look like a “good kid,” if you catch my drift.”

The taller of the pair of turtles on the ledge brought his gaze around to the teen beside him, brow arched. “So you’re missing a few teeth. You play hockey.” When Casey looked away, refusing to match eyes with him further, Donnie squinted and frowned. “Unless that’s not how you actually lost your teeth.”

Casey’s frown deepened. “I wear a mouthguard on the ice, genius. Anyhow, so yeah, the old man belted me one before you guys met me. Can’t exactly go back and change that.”

“No,” Donnie shot back, expression tight, “but we can reactively rearrange his face for the service.”

There was no response from Casey, who just frowned and looked back at the street. Behind him, April frowned and looked at Leo, giving a helpless shrug as Mikey dropped down beside his oldest brother.

In response, Mikey gave a long, light sigh, then hopped up next to Casey on the ledge. “Well, we’re gonna get you guys away from him, bruh. You and Shadow won’t have to worry a bit about him.”

“Not like there’s much we can do if he decides he’s gonna come looking.” Casey pulled up his hood, slouching forward and scowling. “And he will. He may not give a shit about me, but he’s not gonna let Shadow go.”

“That’s what we’re here for,” Raph pointed out, leaning forward slightly so he could look around his brother to his friend. “We’re gonna make sure you and Shadow stay safe through this whole mess.”

His brothers all nodded in agreement as Leo hopped up onto the ledge over next to Raph, pacing for a moment. “That said… it’s quiet over here tonight. I sort of expected to see your old man wandering out for a drink or something.”

Frowning, Casey glanced down at the house. “Nah, he stays in to drink… which. Y’know, now that you mention it…”

He didn’t finish his thought, instead jumping up to the ledge to head for the fire escape. As he headed down, the others quickly moved to follow him, with Donnie speaking up, sounding confused. “Casey? Hey- hey puckhead, care to complete that thought?”

“Dad doesn’t leave the house most times. It was bad luck he ran into Mikey and Shadow at the playground a few weeks back. He gets drunk at home ‘cuz then it’s easier to yell at me if he wants to.” They knew without even listening to his bitter tone that this was hardly a good memory. “Specially on a weeknight like this. He’ll go to the Skarra Brae if it’s a weekend, and it ain’t a weekend. So if he ain’t here, where is he?”  
Raph was the first to follow him down the fire escape, frowning as he went. “The Skarra Brae? That was an old Purple Dragon hangout years back, wasn’t it? Least that’s what I’ve heard from some’a the thugs we’ve gotten the drop on.”

Jumping to the ground from the last rung, Casey nodded, reaching up to flip his hockey mask down over his face. “Yeah. Y’know how I said Dad used to be a ‘banger? Well, he used to be a Dragon. Used to lead ‘em, way back in the day.”

“That doesn’t explain why we’re climbing down, however,” Donnie pointed out. “What are we doing?”

“I wanna have a look in the house.” Casey was not waiting for them, and they had to rush to keep up. He’d already pulled out his stick, ready for whatever was waiting for them. “If he dropped dead or somethin’, that could make things kinda hard.”

Raph sniffed a bit, rolling his eyes. “If he dropped dead, that’d clear up a lot of things for you two. Certainly make it easier for Don to figure out you and Shadow’s situation.”

No one spoke after that, and the rest of the short walk to the doorway was in silence. Most of the doors here were locked, and the houses and apartments were dark. All the better. While the turtles lingered back, April stepped up beside her friend, gripping the sleeve of his hoodie for a moment when he went to unlock the door. “Casey. Are you sure this is a good idea? I’m getting a bad feeling about this. Like something’s not right.”

This time he hesitated, hand stopped inches from the doorknob. She couldn’t see his expression when he turned to face her, but something in his posture at least indicated he seemed receptive to her warning. “...think it might be a trap, Red?”

“I don’t know. I just… don’t like this. I’m getting all kinds of weird vibes from inside… like there’s way more than just one person waiting in there.” Her other hand came up to press against his upper arm, just up from where she was holding to his sleeve. “Casey, come on. I’m serious. Something isn’t right.”

Up this close, she could sense frustration and anger rolling off him in waves, and she hoped that he would see reason. Whatever was waiting for them beyond that door, she knew it couldn’t possibly be good. At last, though, his muscles relaxed and he let out a sigh, nodding.

“Right. You haven’t steered me wrong yet, Red.” He took two steps back, pausing so she could release his arm before he headed back to the fire escape. “Come on, let’s check out the Skarra Brae. If you think something’s goin’ down, that’s a good place to check.”

As the pair of teens retreated, the inside of the Jones house stirred with faint activity, and six men in dark clothes frowned. One flipped open a phone, holding it up to his ear. After a moment or so of waiting, Hun’s voice came from the other end, inquiring as to their status.

“They are headed for the Skarra Brae.”

“Excellent. Our young friends will have quite the surprise waiting for them when they arrive…”

* * *

The Skarra Brae was a short building, only two stories tall, squat among buildings near it. But it was old and historic, and in this run-down part of town, that still counted for something. At the moment, six teens stood on its roof, preparing to head down the alley fire escape to have a look around at ground level.

But April still stood anxious, reflexively clenching and unclenching her fists, pacing for a moment. Donnie took notice, standing straight to look over at her. “Everything okay, April…?”

“I don’t know. I had a similar feeling back at Casey’s old house, just… something feels really off. I don’t know what it is.” She pressed her hands together tightly, casting an anxious look around the rooftop. “I don’t think we should be here.”

It was just as she spoke that all at once, something large and heavy crashed down hard on the roof behind her. The turtles and humans spun, just in time to see Tiger Claw standing from a crouch, towering over his opponents. “Turtles. And I see you have brought your human friends. How convenient.”

And he wasn’t alone. In moments, the rooftop was crawling with Purple Dragons and Foot bots… and Arnie. He looked cleaned up from when Casey last saw him, and not in the good way, but seeing him like this made it all the more clear that the son took much more after the father in looks than he likely did his mother.

“Casey! I was wonderin’ where you were, boy,” he was saying, slowly striding toward the teen. For his part, Casey was immediately growing tense, his shoulders tight as he reached back to put his hockey stick between him and his father. “You think you’re gonna take me on with that? C’mon now, Junior, you don’t wanna fight your old man.”

Behind his mask, Casey snarled, squaring himself up. “Like hell I don’t. Looks like you’re runnin’ with all your old buddies again, huh, old man? Well count me and Shadow out of it!”  
Arnie snorted, cracking his knuckles. “Oh, son, looks like I’m gonna have to teach you a whole new lesson in mindin’ your elders.”

“Yeah?” Casey shifted his weight, bouncing on the balls of his feet. “How ‘bout you learn to mind me?!”

With that shout, he threw himself forward, and all at once the roof was a tangled mess of a fight. The Foot bots were thankfully not as much of a threat, so their presence was more an inconvenience… but the Purple Dragons and Tiger Claw were far more of a menace.

Casey tried to keep his attention entirely on his father. Three years of anger and pain were boiling just below the surface, driving him forward with each time his stick caught Arnie’s shoulders or arms, trying to land a solid enough blow to knock him off his guard. He was fighting angry, and deep down he knew that wasn’t a good idea. He needed to try to get the upper hand in another way, so he fell back, trying to rethink his strategy.

As Arnie took a step back himself, shaking out his arms and cracking his neck, Casey decided to take his shot.

He discarded his stick for a bat, rushing forward to take one solid swing. The connecting blow made a satisfying crack, snapping Arnie’s head to the side as he staggered back several steps… but he did not go down.

Instead he spat, cracking his jaw twice before he started to laugh. “That all you got, boy?!”

Two long steps and he had crossed the distance between himself and his son, grabbing Casey’s shoulder and lifting before slamming him down hard onto the rooftop, face first, dislodging his mask. As it fell from his face, split apart from the force of the blow, Casey gave himself an anxious shake and pushed away, sniffing against what he was sure from the pain was a broken nose.

He didn’t have time to recover, as Arnie closed on him again, fist connecting hard with the boy’s stomach before he struck him once, hard across the face. Staggering backwards, he did his best to keep his feet beneath him, even as the world around him felt like it was spinning.

That hadn’t even gone remotely close to plan. Casey spat blood, his nose wrinkling up. All around him was chaos, between the turtles, April, the Foot bots, and the few members of the Purple Dragons on this rooftop, but all he could focus on was his father. He did look like he had cleaned up, but not for the best. The old dragon tattoo that wrapped around his arm was neatly touched up, he no longer reeked of liquor.

But he still stared down at his wayward son with a sneer, every piece of his expression reading disdain. There was blood dripping from his lip where Casey had busted it with the bat, but he didn’t even seem remotely phased, just towering over his son, watching him for a moment or so. He brushed a bit of dirt from his sleeve, then looked back to Casey with a low scoff. “So. Give up yet? You and your sister come on home, we’ll just put this whole mess behind us.”

Casey’s entire frame tensed up as he gritted his teeth, jaw tight. “Like fuckin’ hell, old man. We’re definitely not coming home. And you can stay the hell away from Shad.” He lifted his hockey stick, entire frame tense. “So you can just go fuck off.”

He was ready to strike, but Arnie was a split second quicker, his hand shooting out to grab his son by the collar and haul him off the ground, growling. “You ungrateful little brat. Sixteen years I put in, keeping your ass safe and fed, and this is how you repay me? Throwing your lot in with these freaks and trickin’ your sister? Well.” He stood straight, ignoring the blows of Casey’s sneakers against his abdomen as the boy tried to kick free. “Let’s see how Gabby likes being an only child.”

It was April who heard that, and Casey’s angry shout that followed. She tried to disengage quickly from the Foot bots she was fighting, doing her best to turn to help as she saw the elder Jones heading for the edge of the roof. “Casey! Casey, NO!”

She couldn’t get free fast enough, and in the next instant, Arnie had shoved out hard, releasing Casey to send him over the ledge, reeling toward the alleyway below.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things keep going from "bad" to "worse," but how could things get any worse than they already are?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still hemming and hawing a bit over where this takes place in the timeline. I'll let you know when I figure it out. It's au anyway though so...........

It happened in less time than it took to blink. One minute, Arnie was holding Casey up by his collar, and the very next, he’d pitched the teen over the side of the building. Horrified, April let loose a sudden burst of energy, flinging back the Foot bots that were trying to jump them to rush forward. It was a five story drop. He could be dead.

She was stopped by the mountain of a man stepping in front of her, sneering as he cracked his knuckles. It was almost terrifying how much that sneer looked like Casey’s, and she took the briefest of moments to remind herself that this man was nothing like the boy he’d sired.

The air around her seemed to vibrate in a heat haze as her eyes went blazing white, fury written into every inch of her frame. “You bastard!”

“And what are you gonna do about it, little girl?” he asked. “Or are you just that interested in joining that punk son of mine?”

April’s frown deepened, fingers curling as she clenched her fists, nails digging into her palms. “I’m not afraid of you. But you should damn well be afraid of me.”

He snorted down at her. He’d been warned, if only briefly, about the strange powers the teenage girl seemed to have, but in all honesty, he wasn’t particularly worried. Surely that sort of thing had to tire out like any other ability, and all he had to do was wear her down. What he had not expected, however, was how quick she really was. When he reached out to try to grab her, she darted under his hand, letting loose another burst from her hands that sent him crashing across the rooftop.

Startled, he lay still for a moment where he’d come to rest against a rooftop entrance building. He took a moment to collect himself and his thoughts, wiping a hand across his mouth to brush away some blood from a split lip. Then, he scowled, turning to loom menacingly in the shadows before approaching April one slow step at a time. “Is that so? Well. Looks like it’s time to see who oughta be afraid of who.”

As she was keeping Arnie distracted, Donnie had taken that moment to break away from the men he was fighting. As his brothers insisted they could manage the fight, he sped to the spot where Casey had gone over, ready to vault to the fire escape below and hurry down to see if he’d even survived the fall.

Which was where he found Casey, hanging by one arm from the fire escape below, though he was shaking. “Donnie!” he called up, wincing. “Fuck- a little help, man?!”

“Oh thank god- I’ll be right down, hang on.” He vaulted over the ledge and down to the fire escape in the next breath, reaching down to pull Casey onto the fire escape with him. The windows on this floor remained dark… probably for the best. “That was way too close for comfort. Are you okay?”

“Got a broken nose, but that’s nothin’ new. And I think I dislocated my shoulder. Hurts like hell.” Something about his tone was strangely subdued, even for Casey, and he kept his head down. He quickly looked away when Donnie reached to examine his shoulder, hesitating only briefly when the other teen winced. “Is everyone else okay?”

Donnie frowned at that, setting his jaw. “Focus on yourself, Casey. The Foot bots are thinned out and once they and the Purple Dragons are all dealt with, we’ll deal with your dad. This is definitely dislocated… you’re lucky you didn’t fall the rest of the way when it went.”

Casey made an indignant sound, ignoring the blood on his face as he glanced away. “Hey, you spend three years getting the crap kicked out of you by your drunk asshole dad, you learn to ignore a little pain.”

That statement caused Donnie to let out a sharp breath through his nose, and he frowned, shaking his head. “I can’t set this here. I can pop it back in, but I’d rather have some extra hands, and I’m sure you already know it’s gonna hurt.”

The look on Casey’s face could’ve frozen the Earth’s core, but he did give a solemn nod, indicating he was going to go along with what had happened. He wasn’t going to be happy about it, but he was at least going to be marginally cooperative. He knew well enough that Donnie’s intelligence wasn’t just for show, and whatever he did, he did it to help.

“Yeah, that’s fine. Go on up and help everyone out, I’ll chill here.”

“You sure?”

“I don’t got much of a choice, Don.”

Donnie frowned, but in the end, Casey had a point. So he just sighed in resignation, pulling himself onto his feet before climbing back to the rooftop above.

On the roof itself, the Foot bots had been cleared and most of the Purple Dragons had retreated, leaving April and the Turtles to take on a now vastly outnumbered Arnold Casey Jones Sr. April cast Donnie a worried glance when he climbed back up, but a smile flickered briefly onto her face when he gave her a grin and a thumbs up.

Now all of their attention turned back to Arnie, who took a few steps back. Wearing down the girl with the freaky powers was one thing, but dealing with all four turtles plus her was quite another. So he gave a sharp snort, taking a few steps back and away. “You might think you’ve won, but the war’s just started. You kids got no idea what you’ve got coming to you!”

In the next instant, he was taking off, but before the others could follow, Donnie’s hand shot out to grab the nearest arm. April’s surprised sound was enough to draw everyone’s attention.

“Not now, guys. Casey’s hurt. We need to get him back to the lair.”

Raph’s eyes narrowed sharply. “Is he…?”

Quickly, Donnie shook his head. Best to cut off his hot-tempered brother before things got out of hand. “It’s a broken nose, a split lip, and a dislocated shoulder. Nothing life threatening, but he’s not gonna be in action for a couple of weeks, at least. Come on.”

Frowning, he turned toward the fire escape. It was going to be best to just get Casey home while they could.

* * *

The trip home was far more uneasy than anyone could’ve liked, as Casey was woozy from blood loss and still in pain from his injuries, to the point that he was being half carried between Donnie and Raph part of the way home. April was clearly still frustrated, clenching and unclenching her fists, trying to push out the negativity bristling through her system.

The only thing she could think to do at the moment was to hurry ahead, and make sure Shadow wasn’t in the room when they brought Casey in.

When the rest of the team did finally come limping into the lair, Splinter was waiting for them, and he quickly motioned for them to follow him into the dojo. Casey, still somewhat delirious, was looking around as Donnie ducked into the lab to grab his medical kit. “Where’s Shad?”

“Your sister is in Donatello’s room with April for the time being. It is best if she does not see you quite so injured, even if you believe the injuries are only minor.”

He made a face at that, but he didn’t resist, groaning when he was made to sit down on a mat in the center of the dojo. Donnie had already returned, clutching his medkit, as Splinter drew in a deep breath, glancing at his genius son.

Donnie nodded, reaching out to brace Casey’s opposite shoulder once they got him to lay back. “I’m going to fix up your nose, but first sensei needs to pop your shoulder back into place. This is gonna hurt pretty bad.”

After a moment or two of trying to steady his breathing, Casey nodded, pressing his head back against the thin pillow beneath his head as he gripped Donnie’s arm with his free hand. He did give a sharp, muffled shout when Splinter moved, popping his shoulder neatly back where it belonged, but a moment or two later he was just panting quietly, jaw clenched and eyes shut tight. Donnie did not let go, at least not at first.

“M’fine,” he finally mumbled. “I’m fine, it’s cool. Let’s just… deal with my nose and move on, okay?”

The rest of the treatment passed in silence. As Donnie went about setting Casey’s nose with pressure and tape, Splinter began the healing mantras to ease the pain, with Leo joining in moments later.

“This won’t fix everything,” Leo pointed out, “but this’ll speed up the healing process a lot. Seriously, though, Casey, what were you thinking? You should’ve let us come with you to help.”

Casey’s eyes narrowed as he glanced away again, expression tight. Donnie had already patched his nose and lip, and helped in cleaning up the blood from his face, and now he looked no worse than he might have after a hockey game. The bitter frustration in his expression, however, was deeper and sharper than any of them had ever really seen before. “He came for me, okay? What was I supposed to do, run away?”

Raph snorted a bit at that, folding his arms across his plastron. “In all honesty? Yeah. Well, maybe not run away, but at least back off till we can come in and help. Your dad’s a beast, man.”

“Think I don’t know that? I’ve had worse beatings.” Casey looked like he knew full well how his tone came off, and he did do his best to let go of the tension that had bled into his shoulders, letting out a slow breath. He didn’t even resist when Donnie reached down to help him sit up, assisting in getting his arm into a sling. “...I’m not mad. Not at you. I’m pissed as hell that this is happening at all, though. We’re supposed to be getting away from him, but he just keeps haunting us. I don’t wanna live like that. I don’t want Shadow to live like that.”

The others frowned, but it was Splinter who quietly rested a hand on Casey’s back, expression serene but stern. “Your father is the sort of man who will not let go easily. He is much like Oroku Saki in this way, dedicated to an idea he has fed himself to a point that he believes it is the only truth. He believes he is right, and that you have somehow been turned against him, when in truth he has forced you and your sister to make this choice yourselves. You are not to blame, Casey. He is a hateful, bitter man. Escaping him will take time.”

Casey frowned, nodding slowly, just in time for the door to the dojo to fling open. There stood Shadow, with April behind her, frowning softly. “I tried to keep her in there, but… she wanted to see Casey.”

The girl’s eyes were round as saucers and wet with tears, welling up further and further as she looked at her brother. She’d seen him hurt like that before. He didn’t even let her get a word out, just holding out his uninjured arm, ignoring the pain that jolted through him when she latched onto his side. She wasn’t crying, at least not yet, just holding tightly to his shirt.

April stepped over to sit down beside her, gently running her hand over the thick, dark braid as Casey spoke. “We’ll get through this, Shad. Don’t you worry. It’ll be okay.”

* * *

That evening was somber. Most everyone was doing their own thing, with Mikey and Shadow sitting on the couch playing games as Leo and Raph sparred in the dojo. As for April and Casey, they were sitting with Donnie in the lab, quietly listening to the sound of computers and machinery hum on in the background.

“I can’t believe this,” Casey was mumbling, his brow furrowed. “Y’know, with school starting soon, what if- what if someone grabs her?”

Donnie lifted his head at that, watching as Casey rubbed his hand over the sling his arm was resting in. “I don’t think he’d be that brazen, would he? I mean. Your dad’s kind of a troglodyte, but he can’t possibly be that… stupid.”

Slowly, April shook her head. She was watching Casey too, but her expression wasn’t nearly as contemplative as their turtle companion’s. “No, Casey’s right. There’s a very real risk here. You hear about it a lot on the news… parents who’ve had their kids taken away because they were abusive or whatever and they kidnap the kids. It’s really scary.”

Casey’s frown deepened. “Yeah. The kind of scary I am not here to deal with. Like, at all.”

His companions nodded, and Donnie leaned back, his hands resting lightly on the edge of his workbench as he regarded Casey carefully for a moment. The tall, lanky teen was a human he trusted to take care of himself. He exactly graceful, and his technique lacked any sort of subtlety, but he was innovative and far more clever than he gave himself credit. After all, he had built a taser and all kinds of other weapons and gadgets, all by himself, without the level of intellect Donnie had. It was one of the reasons he’d started respecting him to start.

“Well,” he began slowly, steepling his fingers together as he contemplated how to put what he wanted to say, “there is an option. My brothers and I all started training when we were half Shadow’s age, but she’s still young enough to pick stuff up pretty quickly. We could always ask Master Splinter if he’d want to start maybe training her as a kunoichi, like April. I mean, it’s not much, but it’s a start, right? And it’d give her an edge against bullies, too.”

For a moment, Casey just stared back at Donnie, digesting his words as he said them. He’d taught her some basics of how he fought, of course, but mostly in just a way to keep her safe. How to headbutt someone right in the groin, where to stamp down on a foot or hit someone in the knee to make them hurt enough to run.

Teaching her ninjitsu, however…

“...do you think it’d be okay? I mean… she’s so little.”

Donnie gave a sort of weak grin, shrugging faintly. “Remind me to show you pictures from when we were kids sometime. You realize I was the smallest of my brothers before I hit a growth spurt. Anyway, I don’t see any reason why she couldn’t learn. She’s smart, quick… and I know she’s driven; she seems to have that very much in common with you. It may help her with some of the anger after everything your dad’s put you both through, too. C’mon.”

He didn’t wait for a response this time, instead pulling himself to his feet to head out of the lab and into the dojo. Casey and April were fast on his heels, pausing when Donnie went to kneel and watch his brothers spar, waiting patiently for his opportunity to speak.

Splinter wasted no time when he spotted them, however, tapping his staff lightly once against the mats. “Yame.” Once Raph and Leo had broken off, bowing to one another respectively, both of them backed off and looked to their younger brother, who was still seated, waiting patiently. “What is it, Donatello? You seem to have something on your mind.”

“Hai, sensei,” he responded, bowing his head forward slightly before returning his gaze to his father. “I was just talking to April and Casey about a way to keep Shadow safe. Casey’s worried that their dad might try to grab her since school’s starting soon, and we’ve done a lot of work to get the system, uh… nudged. To where they’re living with the O’Neils. If he grabbed Shadow, there’s no telling what might happen. So… in light of this… I was wondering if maybe it wouldn’t be a good idea to start training her.”

Splinter’s ears very slowly tilted forward, free hand lifting to stroke his beard thoughtfully as his son spoke. “Your idea holds merit. Shadow is young, and this is a good age for her to begin to learn to defend herself. It will also help teach her discipline. Of course, I would like to discourage her from vigilante work.” All of the gathered teens winced at that, offering sheepish grins. “Yes, I think this is a fine idea. Shadow will benefit greatly from proper training, and it will be great help should someone attempt to do her harm.”

Casey let out a breath he didn’t even know he’d been holding. As nerve-wracking as it was to think of his sweet, perky little sister learning how to break limbs before she’d even hit her pre-teens, he had to admit this was a better plan than any he could’ve come up with. Knowing how to defend herself would be a benefit, from now on into the future, and he knew that if he could trust anyone with this, it was most certainly Splinter.

He did finally allow himself a little bit of a smile. “Thanks, Master Splinter. I mean that. I just really want Shadow to be safe, and this honestly seems like it could be the best way t’do it. And, y’know… she likes you. Thinks you’re great, in fact. So, y’know… I’m glad. That you’re gonna be teaching her. Honestly, you’re… you’re a way better dad than our real dad actually is.”

For a moment, Splinter quietly regarded the boy, his whiskers slowly shifting forward, looking just as thoughtful as he had when the idea to train Shadow. Finally, he gave a slow nod, walking forward to place his hand on Casey’s uninjured shoulder. “You and Shadow are welcome parts of this family, Casey. We will never turn you away. I wish you both to feel safe here. I am not your father, but I would like to provide to the two of you the sense of safety and home you have lacked in the last few years.”

Casey stared back at him for a moment before blinking harshly and looking away, pressing his lips tightly together for a moment. It was only after he had finally recomposed himself that he allowed himself a look back at Splinter, and he gave the best smile he could muster, despite his bruised face and broken nose. “That means a lot. I’m sure it means a lot to Shadow, too. Or I mean… it will. When she hears that.”

After a moment or so, Splinter gave a faint chuckle and bobbed his head forward. “I am certain it will. Here, let us bring Shadow in with us. It will be good to speak to her of this first-hand. This is exciting for me, as well. It has been some time since I have trained children. Often, I find it is from young warriors we have the most to learn.”

Leo smiled a bit, bowing respectfully before going out to collect his youngest brother and the wide-eyed little girl from their spot on the couch. Mikey was bouncing a bit as he followed, though he stopped and bowed respectfully on entering the dojo… a motion Shadow watched and mimicked, her eyes wide with interest. When he stood straight, so did she, and she blinked when he led her up right in front of Splinter.

The two regarded one another for a moment, and none of the turtles missed the small flicker of emotion that crossed their father’s expression. Having lost his own daughter to the Shredder, and knowing she was still alive but missing somewhere in the city, it must have hurt to look at this little dark haired girl, gazing up at him with such intense interest.

But he did finally smile, kneeling quietly in front of her. “Shadow, my sons and your brother have suggested that you begin to train in the ancient art of ninjitsu. You are a brave, smart little girl, and I believe you are strong enough and focused enough to become quite skilled.”

As he spoke, her eyes grew wider, looking more and more intrigued by what he was saying the longer he spoke. Finally, she let out a low, soft breath, wringing her hands together tightly. Then, she put them to her sides, fists curled into tight little balls as she snapped her head in a quick nod. “I’ll be the best student ever, Master Splinter, you’ll see!”

Raph couldn’t help but grin at her enthusiasm, putting his hands on his hips. “Hoo boy, give ‘er enough time and the squirt’ll be throwin’ us around.”

She blew a raspberry at him when he said that, but immediately snapped back to attention when Splinter spoke to her. “We will begin this evening, before dinner. But we must do something with your hair. It may get in the way while you train.”

“I’d… normally do that, but, uh…”

When Casey trailed off, April spoke up. “I can do the braid. I mean, I’ve been watching you. It might be simple, but it’ll work.”

The smile he offered her was grateful, and he turned to walk with her back toward the main room. The four turtles, however, remained. Leo’s smile slowly faded, and he looked back to his father, clearly concerned. “Sensei? Is this really the best thing to do for her?”

“She is young and has little defense against a world that would do her harm,” Splinter replied, sighing as he rested both hands on his staff. “Their father will not rest until he has done immeasurable harm to these children, and the best we can do for them is to prepare them. They are your family, as you are to each other. If we must teach Shadow to fight to keep her safe… then so be it. I would like your help in this. She will need to spar.”

All four nodded, easily in agreement, and bowed forward as their voices chimed up, “Hai, sensei.”

* * *

“This is bullshit, Hun. I ain’t in this to kidnap little kids.”

The Purple Dragons had been serving under the Shredder for quite some time now, but as time passed, Hun was slowly beginning to realize that it may be a good time to start trimming away excess weight. But for now, he put on a chillingly pleasant face, turning to face the woman who spoke. “Your job in this is not to grab the child, Leah, but to provide a distraction so that someone more capable of keeping a grip on a wriggly little brat can grab her.”

She clearly didn’t seem convinced, wrinkling up her nose slightly at the tone he took with her as her eyes narrowed sharply. “I ain’t in this to be a distraction while someone else kidnaps a little kid, then. The hell are we doing kidnapping little girls, anyway? That is not our game, and it’s fuckin’ sick anyway.”

“Your opinion is was not required and is not asked for,” Hun snapped back at her. “The only thing required of you is going to be to do your part in this mess.”

It was all Leah could do not to roll her eyes in frustration, folding her arms across her abdomen as she narrowed her eyes. There was another woman standing nearby, looking equally irate with the situation, her purple streaked black hair twisted up in a high ponytail and braided to keep it out of her face. And when Hun marched away from them, snapping at them to wait right where they were until he returned, the second woman rolled her eyes.

“God, he’s a tool,” she huffed. “Bad enough he brings old Arnie back on the team - I heard stories from the old guys - but now this?”

Leah nodded slowly, frowning as she puffed some of her hair out of her face. “No kidding, Angel. You know his son, right?”

The other girl nodded slightly, shifting uncomfortably as she brushed a few strands of hair out of her face, frowning quietly. Angel was younger than she was, only about seventeen, and had grown up in this area, always managing her time between helping her father at his bar and running with the Dragons. "Casey and I were besties growing up. Dad and his dad were buddies, but they kinda fell out after Mrs. Jones died a few years back. Apparently he took it really hard. I haven't seen much of him since then. Just hope he and his sister are okay."

"The sister's the one we're apparently supposed to be going after, but if you ask me, this is shady as hell. And I know you're not in for this." She turned her eyes to look at the other girl, chin tipped up slightly. Not that anyone would've wanted this job in particular. Shaking people down or intimidating some folks was one thing. It paid her rent and kept her fed, even if it left a consistently sour taste in her mouth, but she didn't like the thought of harming a child. And even if they weren't harming her, kidnapping her was sure to leave some unpleasant scars. "What kinda dad has to kidnap his kids to make 'em come home, anyway?"

Angel's lips tightened. She'd heard rumors at school before dropping out, and seen Casey now and then. He too often sported bruises and sprained limbs that he claimed were from hockey, but she had a feeling he was lying. She'd always been able to tell when he was lying. But he wouldn't speak to her, which hurt more than most things she could think of. She had managed to briefly talk to the red-haired girl he'd made friends with, but she could only shrug helplessly herself. Her expression was worried, and that had been enough to tell Angel she wasn't the only one with questions.

"I heard... stories. I don't know if any of it was true, but I know that I saw Casey a lot with bruises and shit. I honestly think his dad may've been hittin' him. I don't know about Gabby, though. I hope he wasn't hurting Gabby. If he was, then I got even more reasons not to want to do this like. At all."

That made Leah tense right up and she frowned deeply, clenching her hands tightly against her arms. "Great."

She would have carried the conversation further, but by that point Hun had returned, and he wasn't alone. He was tailed by some sort of dog creature, massive and dangerous looking, with thin fur and leathery skin and rough bone poking through its flesh here and there. Both girls recoiled at the sight, and the dog creature gave a low, gravelly laugh. "What's the matter, girls? Never seen a mutant before?"

"Not one that looked like that," Leah muttered. "What the hell's goin' on, Hun?"

He didn't address her directly, instead motioning up at the towering mutant. "You will be distracting the child so that Bradford can grab her. If all goes to plan, we will end this before the week is done."

Rahzar lifted his head slightly. Both girls were glaring up at him with a sense of uneasy distrust, and he supposed he couldn't blame them. He looked pretty monstrous now, and though it burned him up that this had affected him so, it was somewhat amusing to see how the girls recoiled. "You two meet me outside. We have work to do."

As he turned from them to slink out, Hun on his heels, both of them let out a slow breath. Leah visibly tensed, clenching her hands into fists. "So what now, Ange?"

"...I'm gonna warn Casey. I just hope he'll listen to me."

* * *

Throughout the entirety of the planning process, Angel was tense. The more she heard about the situation at hand, the more she realized her suspicions about Arnie had been correct. He had loomed in the background of the meeting the whole time, though he had greeted her as "amicably" as she supposed was possible, given the situation. Good to know he at least recognized her. "Angel Bridge!" he had crowed, landing one heavy hand on her shoulder, causing her to wince. "You don't look as scraggly as you used to. How's your old man? Still hidin' in that bar?"

She hadn't answered him, not out of fear, but because a growing sense of unease and disgust was rising in her throat. She'd given him a withering smile, and he had apparently accepted that as genuine enough as he stomped off to the place he intended to watch the action from in the next few heartbeats.

Now she was waiting outside the school, a bandanna tied around her thick hair, skimming the exiting teenagers to try to find Casey in the crowd. It was only the first day of school... surely he hadn't skipped.

It wasn't Casey that she saw first, however, but April, her fiery red hair easily spotted in the crowd. Next to her walked Casey, his dark hair pulled back into a loose ponytail to keep it out of the way for the duration of the school day and arm resting in a sling. They were talking, and while Casey seemed more at ease than she had seen him in a long time, something about him was still so tense and uneasy. It was like he was just waiting for someone to throw the first punch.

Well, it was now or never.

Letting out a soft breath, Angel hopped down from her post, weaving through the crowd to reach the pair. "Casey! Hey- hey Casey, wait up!"

He very nearly stopped in his tracks at the sound of the familiar voice, jerking his head around to try to spot the origin until he found Angel in the crowd. "Angel? What are you doing here?"

"We got a problem, Casey. Can we talk?"

Casey exchanged a quick glance with April, and moments later, they had found their way out of the crowd of kids, many of whom were curiously looking toward Angel. Most of them hadn't seen her since she'd dropped out.

As soon as they were suitably out of earshot, Angel shoved her hands in the pockets of her hoodie, frowning slightly. Casey watched how she moved, then folded his arms, clearly tense. "You're still runnin' with the dragons, Ange?"

"...yeah. But this isn't about that." She paused. "I mean... it is about that. Kinda. We gotta get to your sister's school, okay? Shit's about to go down."

He looked skeptical, watching her expression, her posture... anything that could possibly be a tell. There had to be some sort of answer in the way she held herself, right? "What's going on? Why do we need to get to Shadow's school?"

Angel swallowed hard. For now, she just had to hope that Leah could distract that weird dog zombie dog long enough for them to get over there and prevent something from going down. "Hun came up to me and my friend last night and told us he wanted us in on something. We were supposed to distract your sister long enough for this guy, Bradford, to grab her. Your dad was there too, Case. I'm really worried. And if we don't hurry, they will grab her."

Any unease, despite his overall calmness, melted in an instant. Casey's shoulders were tensed, fists clenched, dark eyes narrowed. "Those sons of-"

"Not now, Casey," April cut in, grabbing his arm. "Angel, right? When are they planning to grab her?"

"Soon as school lets out."

"Okay, we have an hour. If we get over there early, we can root them out and make sure they can't touch Shad. Okay?"

Slowly, he nodded, trying to ease some of the tension out of his shoulders. He wanted to rage, to punch something, to do anything to get his little sister out of the line of fire, but he knew April was right. They had to keep their heads on straight. He was just glad Angel had come to him directly. "...right. Got it, Ange. C'mon, let's move. We gotta hurry.”

It wasn't terribly far to Shadow's school, but finding Bradford should have been simple. After all, he was a giant zombie dog in the middle of Manhattan. How was that supposed to hide in plain sight?

Their question was answered as they passed by an alleyway on their way to the school. They were less than a block away when one massive bony paw swept out and dragged Casey into the shadows by his hood, and he yelped as he went, kicking and shouting angrily.

"Casey!"

Both girls called for their friend at once, immediately hurrying into the alley after him. He chuckled darkly as he loomed over them, Foot Bots all but covering the walls, and Fishface lingering nearby. "Surprise, brats. Hun had a hunch that you'd betray him, Angel, so here I am."

Angel's eyes grew wide. "Oh no... oh no, then..."

"That's right, little girl," Fishface sneered. "You walked right into a trap. As we speak, an entire squad of Foot ninja are waiting near the girl's school. We will have her and be gone before you even have a chance to get away from us."

Casey's face went from angry surprise to full rage in that instant, and he swung his backpack hard to get Rahzar to unhand him. Fury drove his actions, and intense protectiveness over his baby sister. He wasn't about to let them have her, not now, not ever. As soon as he was dropped, Angel and April dove into the fray. It was clear from the start that they weren't trying to hurt or grab any of them. This was all just a distraction, and if they didn't break free of it soon…

April closed her eyes tightly. Focusing her powers was difficult enough, but she needed to now. For Casey, for Shadow. It began as a sharp tingling sensation in her core, going icy hot in the next instant, spreading up through her chest and into her limbs. When her eyes snapped open, she curled her arms tight. "Angel! Casey! Move!"

The pair spared her one glance, noticing the strange haze around her slim frame, and immediately dove out of the way, just in time for April to unleash a shockwave that sent Foot bots flying in every direction, bowling over both Rahzar and Fishface in the process. Though she was panting, exhaustion immediately settling in where the energy had been a moment before, she forced herself to draw up and alert when Angel's hand grabbed her arm. She already had Casey with the other. "Come on! We gotta go, before they get up again!"

The trio took off immediately. School must have already been out by now, and they could see a crowd of kids emerging from the grade school, laughing and chattering. Casey was looking for the shirt Shadow had been wearing that morning, a pink tee with a cat wearing sunglasses on the front, her dark hair done up in a braid wrapped around the crown of her head.

He gave such a sigh of relief when he spotted her, immediately starting to weave forward, but in the next instant there came a sudden burst of startled screaming from kids that scattered away from a four armed ninja creature appearing right behind his sister.

A Foot bot.

His eyes went wide and he rushed forward. "Shad! Shadow!"

She had gone still when she realized her classmates were panicking, but when her brother called her name, Shadow's head immediately jerked up and she went to run towards him. “Casey-!"

Her cry was cut off when the robot grabbed her with two of its arms, bug-like eyes snapping at Casey briefly. He was shouting his anger, trying to move through a throng of terrified children. He was almost there, close enough to reach out, his fingertips brushing hers when she tried to reach out to him. And then, in a sudden burst of smoke, the Foot bot - and Shadow - were gone.

For a moment, Casey stood bewildered as the children around him continued to panic, his arm falling to his side as he glanced around wildly. There was no sign of the Foot Bot, or Shadow, anywhere. All he could do was shout angrily at the sky.

They had failed. They had failed, and now… the Shredder had Shadow.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Shadow kidnapped by her father, it's a race to find her before things really go to the pits...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Funny thing is, when I started this story, I didn't intend for it to turn into a series of stories. Now that's where we're headed. Nearing the end at last!

Shadow was gone.

For several moments, Casey stood in shock, staring around at the panicking children all around him. This couldn't be happening.

They knew it was a very real possibility, of course, that the Shredder would make a move. If Arnie was working with the Purple Dragons, it was only a matter of time before their old enemy decided he was going to turn to one of their own as some sort of bait. And he was certain that was what she was going to end up being: the Shredder didn't care about the little girl, or what happened to her. All he wanted was some new way to go after his foes. Casey probably would have gone after them right then, but April had his arm in the next instant, looking worried.

"Casey, come on. We've gotta tell the turtles."

"But April, they have Shadow-!"

Another gentle tug. This time Angel moved up beside him, her expression worried. "No, she's right. There's no way we can take on thugs like that without some kinda help. I'm gonna see if I can find my friend- she was supposed to be helpin' out in this, but I get the feeling she was sent elsewhere when I didn't show. Either that or they had her sent somewhere else anyway, just as some kinda distraction. We'll get Gabby back, Casey."

He frowned deeper, pulling his arm away from April as he scowled, shoulders tense. He wanted to believe both of them, he really did, and he knew they had a point. The turtles, as April had pointed out going to them first, would have the best idea of where to start looking. Angel was fiercely determined, as she always had been, and she had one thing very right: they were going to find Shadow. The girls weren't going to jerk him around, not April or Angel. He trusted them both more than he did most other people in his life, and while right now, all he wanted to do was hunt down the monsters that had dared to touch his baby sister... right now, they had a point.

Finally, he nodded, especially as he noticed that there were teachers coming out to try to wade through the chaos, and the cops would likely not be far behind. Cops he was certain wouldn't know how to help his sister or even where to start. They didn't have the time to spare to be stopped and questioned by the adults slowly heading in their direction... every moment spent up here was one more piece of distance further from his sister. His gaze shifted to the two girls, waiting anxiously for them to give some kind of sign, his narrow shoulders visibly tensing. Angel gave him a weak, if genuine, smile, cuffing him gently on the shoulder before taking off to the more familiar alleyways. April, on the other hand, grabbed his sleeve to lead him toward the nearest sewer entrance.

Casey outpaced her at every step, though he could hear her doing her best to keep up behind him, once they had entered the tunnels leading to the turtles' subterranean home. The only thing on his mind was finding his sister, but he just couldn't fathom how they could. The further they went, the more frustrated and worried he got, until they both skidded into the lair.

"Guys!" he called, noting the faint rustling and heads appearing around various pieces of furniture and doors. "Guys, it's- the Shredder has Shadow! Rahzar distracted us and some crazy four armed Foot bot grabbed her!"

Immediately cries of disbelief rose among the gathered teenagers, and Raph was the first on his feet, striding over with a frown. "How long ago? Did you see which direction they headed?"

April shook her head, immediately grabbing hold of Casey's arm when it looked like he might bolt again. "No, we didn't. It grabbed her and used a smoke pellet. And by the time all that happened..."

"Rahzar was probably gone," Leo finished, clenching his fists at his sides. His dark blue eyes were narrowed, and he looked deeply thoughtful about the situation they had just found themselves in. Sure, each of them had a run-in like this at some point in the past, but Shadow was little and didn't have the protections they did. Even with her new training, she wasn't going to be able to take on the likes of a Foot bot on her own. Arnie was one thing- she could've hit him where it counted. But not unfeeling metal. "Damn it. Okay, so we need a plan and we need to figure out where they might've taken her..."

That was when Donnie finally glanced into the room, heading down to where the group was gathered from his place in the lab, pulling out his t-phone. "Actually, I might be able to help with that. While you guys were staying here over the summer, I installed a homing chip in her sneakers... and I put one in her backpack, just in case. We should be able to track Shadow to wherever they've taken her."

Casey's shoulders dropped as he let out a deep sigh, more relieved than anything. In that moment, he could've kissed the lanky turtle. "D, you are a genius. Don't think I tell you that enough. So how soon can we figure out where they've headed?"

The genius flashed him a weak grin, then turned his attention to the phone in his hand, tapping in a few commands. "If you give me a few minutes, I should be able to triangulate her position relative to where we are now and figure out the best route to take..."

Nearby, Mikey was frowning, his brow furrowed as he watched Casey. "You don't think they're gonna hurt her? I mean, she's just a little kid. Like, teeny tiny."

"I don't think so," Casey responded, his tone tight. He was shifting his weight uneasily from one foot to the other, his whole frame tense. He wanted to get out, to go after them, instead of standing and waiting, but he knew it wasn't going to do anyone any good to rush off without a plan. "At least I hope not. They wanna keep my dad in line, too, and other than that one time, he never laid a finger on her. So... y'know. Wouldn't do them much good, in the long run."

Leo nodded at that, reaching out to put a hand on Casey's arm. "And if that's the case, we have a starting point. If we know they won't hurt her, then we know we've got time. Don't worry, Casey. No matter what, we're gonna get Shadow back. And we'll make sure they know what happens when you mess with one of ours."

* * *

The entire way back to the Shredder's tower, Shadow had been a thorn in Rahzar's side. She was quite possibly the most irritatingly loud and wriggly child he'd ever had the misfortune of having to deal with, and in his time as an entertainer before he'd been mutated, he'd dealt with his fair share of irritatingly loud and wriggly children. He had a firm enough grip on her and held her up high enough that for the time being, she didn't bother trying to get down, but she did seem perfectly ready to land one heck of a kick on him if he wasn't careful about how he was holding her.  
It would be a treat to finally turn her in to the Shredder.

He was met at the entrance by Tiger Claw, who gave the girl a long look, frowning. For such a little thing, she certainly had quite a bit of fighting spirit, as she lashed out in an attempt to hit him when she was held close enough. "I need to speak with Master Shredder," Rahzar stated, still holding the girl where Tiger Claw was certain to see her. Not like he needed to, Tiger Claw considered bitterly. He could smell the child's presence, and she was loud enough that even had he been blind in both eyes, he would have known full well she was there. "Mission accomplished."

"So I can see," Tiger Claw muttered, his ears flicking back momentarily. He knew more of the plan than he wagered his compatriot did, and even if Rahzar was aware of what was at stake here, he didn't particularly care. "He is waiting inside."

Rahzar nodded slightly, then brushed past the tiger mutant. Even if he had all the time in the world, he had no interest in talking to Tiger Claw any longer than he had to. They'd never really gotten along, but then, he hadn't gotten along with most of the people he was supposed to be on "good" terms with. So he snorted, stepping into the elevator that would take him up to the throne room, giving Shadow a shake in some faint attempt to settle her down, just that little bit more.

The main hall of the Shredder's tower remained as cold and unforgiving as ever, with dim lights and high glass walls, the tinted material letting in little from the outside. Rahzar didn't mind it so much, but he noticed as he walked that the restlessly squirming little girl he held by the backpack had stilled at least for the moment, wide eyes taking in the room in silent, frightened awe. Well, if it shut her up for a few minutes, that was a bonus.

At the foot of the stairs, he knelt, pushing Shadow out in front of him while making sure to keep hold of her backpack, even while she tried to gain balance on unsteady feet, trying to get a good look at whoever was sitting on the throne at the very top.

The man cut an even more imposing figure than her father. She tried to shrink back a bit as he stood, staring down at her with awful cold eyes she could just barely see past the shadows of his mask. His armor glinted in the room's limited illumination, bristling with sharp blades that looked like they could even cut through tough turtle shells. If she had ever seen someone who looked like a real monster before in her short life, it was definitely this cruel figure, looming high above her like something out of a nightmare. She looked down and away, still squirming slightly, and when she finally managed to wiggle out of her backpack to run, Rahzar just grabbed hold of her shirt, growling.

"You stay right where you are, little girl." He snorted briefly, then turned his head, glowing eyes focusing on the monstrous man before them. "Master, I've brought the girl. She was almost too easy to catch. Clearly the turtles didn't think ahead."

Again Shadow struggled, though she froze in her place when the man the dog mutant spoke to began to speak, blood like ice inside her. "Excellent work, Bradford. That old fool's child will serve as excellent bait to lure in our enemies."

She swallowed hard. Bait? What did they intend to do with her? Was she going to be hung up from a hook, like they were using her for fishing? Or worse? She may not have been necessarily scared of the weird dog monster - he just looked like a spooky Halloween decoration - but this man, his master, was terrifying. And she had seen a lot of scary people. Unlike Splinter, whose commanding presence demanded respect and attention while still remaining soft and gentle and safe, this man was sharp and hard and cold in all the worst ways. The sort of person she was sure probably would kill puppies and not give anything about the action a second thought.

Which, she guessed, was likely why the turtles didn't like him. They were good and kind. This man was not. She did catch when he motioned for her to be taken away, and that was the last look she got of the horrible man before she was picked up and carted off again, to be carried who knew where.

* * *

Now Rahzar was annoyed. More intense than annoyed, actually, he was downright infuriated. Until they knew exactly how they were going to handle matters, he, Fishface, and Tiger Claw were on babysitting duty - just in case those little freaks decided to show up - over a pint sized scrap of a girl who just would not shut her yap. He was holding her by the back of her shirt, watching as she wriggled in frustration, an angry flush coloring her round, freckled cheeks.

“This’ll go a lot easier if you hold still, brat,” he growled, sniffing at her. “We’ll have you in a nice, comfy little cell of your own soon enough.”

She just narrowed her big blue eyes, lips pursing into the angriest little frown. “Just you wait, you big jerks. When my big brother and his friends come, they’re gonna kick your gross butts all the way across the city!”

Fishface just snorted at that. He was leaning against the wall nearby, just watching the scene unfold with his ally and their little piece of bait. “She is mouthy, no?”

Scowling, Rahzar snorted, lifting Shadow so she was just that tiniest bit closer to his face. “Too mouthy, if you ask me-”

He was cut off with a yelp almost instantly, as Shadow - now within leg reach - had started thrashing, and managed to connect one sharp kick with the sole of her foot right to the massive canine mutant’s nose. That by itself Fishface would have found hilarious, but worse still was when the lights on her little sneakers started to blink brightly as a result of the impact.

Almost immediately, he was howling with laughter, which only got worse when Rahzar snapped his head back, holding Shadow out of reach again as he rubbed his nose with his free hand. He scowled at his compatriot, growling at whatever humor he found in this little whip of a girl trying to show him up, then turned his attention back to Shadow, giving her a firm shake.  
“You little brat! Think you’re so tough, huh? I could eat you in one bite, and don’t you forget that.”

She just gave an indignant sniff, despite the rattling he’d just given her. “Nuh-uh. You wouldn’t hurt me. I heard your big weird spiky boss and he said you can’t hurt me or he’ll be the one to kick your butt before Casey comes and kicks your butt again for hurtin’ me. You’re just a big scared bully!”

The sheer indignation and fearlessness in her tone renewed Fishface’s extreme amusement as he sank down the wall to sit on the floor, one hand over his eyes as he wheezed through fresh peals of laughter. “Oh- oh, she has- she has a point, Bradford!” he cackled, waving his free hand absently. “What a little spitfire she is!”

“They’re gonna come and get you too! They’ll make sushi outta you!”

Fishface just gave another long outburst of laughter. “Ohhh, I would be insulted, but really, I rather like this child! We should keep her.”

Over by a wall nearby, Tiger Claw continued to observe the pair, though he couldn’t resist a smirk. The little girl had fire in her, that was for certain, and as much as he loathed having to deal with such a task, he rather enjoyed seeing Rahzar get his at the hands of a cub.

He did know, of course, what the master’s plans were, once they had obtained the Jones children and vanquished the turtles. Depending on Casey Jones’s condition, they could recondition him, but he could be disposed of if need be. As for the little girl?

Well, she was one more child to take from Hamato Yoshi and turn to understand who their true enemy really was. One more dagger in his back.

In the meantime, he was simply amused to watch these antics. It may not have been rare to find these two making fools of themselves, but at the hands of a child, it was much funnier.

“Now you listen here, you little pipsqueak,” Rahzar was growling, wrapping his hand around the tiny girl’s waist to hold her up at eye level. She couldn’t kick him like this. “You’re going to settle down and behave like a good little girl or I’m going to have to get nasty.”

Shadow’s response was to wrinkle up her nose a bit and lash out to pop him one with a tiny fist. Though the bones sticking through his skin scraped her knuckles, she didn’t seem phased, just blowing a raspberry at him when he seemed unbothered by the strike.

This time Tiger Claw did chuckle. If all went according to plan, this child would make an excellent addition to the Shredder’s army as she grew. Strong willed, full of anger… anger that could easily be turned on her former allies, given the proper nudges.

They just had to play their hand very carefully. Move too quickly, the whole operation could fall apart. For now… what they needed was patience.

* * *

The path wasn’t going to be an easy one. It had been a while since they had last infiltrated the Shredder’s lair, and this time wasn’t like the other ones. This time they had someone’s life on the line.

Casey remained surprisingly silent through the preparations for the actual assault, leaning against Donnie’s workbench and watching as the genius plugged away through the process of locating Shadow’s current location. Her backpack, it seemed, was in an entirely different location from where her sneakers were… which meant they had likely taken it off her. Not surprising, he insisted when Casey had bristled at that news. They had likely suspected her family of trying to track her.

They wouldn’t be so suspicious of a little girl’s sneakers.

By the time they were all ready to go, everyone could feel the tension all but radiating from Casey. He had been chomping at the bit to get going since Shadow had been grabbed, but had listened to his friends at least in waiting until they could figure out just where they had taken Shadow. Now that they knew, they had a plan.

“Okay, everyone, remember what we’re doing,” Leo was saying, addressing everyone as a unit. Donnie, Mikey, Casey. You guys are going to check the upper levels to see what you can find. Look everywhere- remember, we know they have holding cells up there. That’s where they were holding Karai.” He swallowed hard after that. Talking about their missing sister was still something of a hot point, but it was the best way to make his point. “Raph, April, and I will take the lower levels and scout around, see if there’s anything down there that could tell us where to find her.”

Donnie nodded, lifting his t-phone to get a better look at the readings there. “Those locations correspond to where her trackers are, the one in her backpack and the one in her shoes. She’s at one of these two spots. Whoever finds her first, contact the other team through your t-phones. We’ll meet up and get her out. Our priority is Shadow’s safety- we don’t want a prolonged fight if we can help it.”

Everyone nodded, even Casey, who was clenching and unclenching his fists at his sides, trying his best to focus his attention on the task at hand. He didn’t like all this waiting, or the anxiety of not knowing. He didn’t like the uncertainty of where they stood with all of this.

Nearby, Splinter was watching them silently, his ears down. It was something to consider, how horrible he felt over all of this happening. All of this stemming from his own foolish feud… one he had never wished his sons to be caught up in. And now, not only his children, but their friends - children he considered part of his family as much as they were - ran the risk of being harmed by all this madness.

He knew too well, as did his sons, that the Shredder would show no mercy to a little girl. And even if he did not harm her physically, there was no doubt in his mind that he would not hesitate to do to her what he had done to Karai. And that was a fate he did not wish to see happen to any other helpless victim ever again.

Shadow was a resilient child, it was true, but she had already been through so much in eight short years. It hurt to know that she had more yet to endure, and would see so much more as she overcame all the tragedy.

“Sensei?” It was Leo’s voice that snapped him out of his thoughts, and looked down to find his eldest son looking up at him curiously, head tilted to one side and blue eyes bright and focused. “Did you hear me? We’re going to get going.”

For a moment, he just inclined his head forward, reaching out to grip Leo’s shoulder gently. They were all so young. He wished they didn’t have to fight these battles, but here they were. He gave a gentle squeeze when it looked like Leo would speak again, nodding slightly. “Go. Be careful, my family.”

Leo watched him for a moment longer, trying to get a read on his father’s expression, but he finally nodded, slipping away from Splinter’s grip to dart after his siblings and friends as they made for the turnstiles. As he watched the last of them vanish around the corner, he let out a soft sigh, frowning.

“And be safe.”

* * *

Shadow was very much over being stuck in this tower. She swore she had paced the length of the little cell they’d placed her in a dozen times, and she was too short to see out the one small window provided. It was cold up here, and damp, and she was hungry and scared and lonely.

Quietly, she sat herself down in a little corner of the cell and tried to assess her situation. After the weird robot had grabbed her, it had handed her off to that gross zombie dog, who had kept hold of her through the entirety of that awful encounter with the guy wearing the spiky armor.

Now she was here, curled up in a cold room with a hard stone floor and no windows or any real light. Her backpack was gone, probably dropped when she’d squirmed out of it in front of that throne and now who knew where it was, and she needed it. Especially with the awful feeling in her chest, like a heavy metal band getting tighter and tighter. She was trying so hard not to wheeze, but it was cold and she was tired and scared.

She was starting to wheeze, tears rolling down her cheeks, when she heard a soft sound just past the cell bars. A young man wearing the garb of a Foot soldier had sat down, his hood pulled back, brown eyes wide as he watched her. “Sumimasen… daijōbu desu ka?”

The words he was speaking were unfamiliar. He was definitely speaking another language, and considering where she was, she could only assume that language was Japanese. She sniffled slightly, shaking her head as she scrubbed dirty palms against her wet cheeks. His tone was worried, though, and he seemed to be trying to communicate that very concern, especially considering her labored breathing.

There had to be a way she could tell him she needed her backpack, right? What was the Japanese word for backpack? Did they even have one?

Hiccuping, and cringing at how awful that felt against the growing tightness, she tried miming putting on her backpack. “Backpack. I need my backpack. My inhaler’s in there.”

All at once, the young man’s face lit up. “Ahhhh! Ah, hai, backpack!” Though his voice was heavily accented, it was clear he had grasped what she was talking about. “Hai, hai… ch-chotto matte kudasai!”

He was on his feet and bolting out in the next instant, and for a moment, Shadow was worried that he was gone for good. But several minutes later, he returned with her backpack in hand, beaming as he sat down in front of her, wedging it carefully through the bars. She mumbled a quick thank you, fishing out a little blue inhaler from the front pocket.

The young man sat in silence, watching worriedly as she leaned against the bars to shakily inhale the little puffs from it, and once she’d lowered it to her lap, he reached through to pat her shoulder gently.

Her eyes swung up to him. He wasn’t very old, probably around Casey’s age, and for someone working with the Foot, he didn’t seem mean or scary at all. He was just waiting patiently, and once her breathing appeared to have evened out, he motioned to himself. “Yamimashita Shiro desu. Shiro. Yoroshiku onegai shimasu. Onamae wa?”

It took Shadow a minute to realize the young man was asking for her name, and she blinked a few times, reaching to put her inhaler back in her bag. “Um. Shadow. Shadow Jones. Shadow’s okay.”

“Shadow. Shadow is okay! Gomenasai, Shadow. Hajimemashite.”

“Um. Okay.” She shifted a little, pushing back her braid. “I dunno what you’re sayin’, but thanks.”

He smiled right back at her, and at first, she started to let herself settle down. She probably would’ve tried to see if she could get him to talk more, maybe figure out a way she could communicate with him, but the door from the stairwell was opening, and the man that walked in had her scrambling away from the bars, clutching her backpack tightly.

It was her father, striding over with purpose. He barked an order at the young Japanese man, who shot her an apologetic look and scrambled off as Arnie sat down opposite her little cell’s entrance.

“Now, Gabby, don’t look so upset. This is for your own good. You won’t be in there long. Soon as those monsters are out of the picture, things’ll be okay again.”

Shadow sniffled a bit, tucking herself back against the wall. “No it won’t,” she mumbled quietly. “No it won’t ‘cuz you’ll still hit Casey and you’ll still yell and you’re gonna hurt the turtles, and they’re my friends.”

Arnie’s shoulders tightened. The Shredder had been right about one thing: those freaks had really done a number, weaseling into the minds of his own children and convincing them that they were anything but the monsters they were. But his daughter was little. She could be made to listen. “You know that’s not true, baby. Daddy only hit Casey because he wouldn’t listen. Once those monsters ain’t botherin’ you or your big brother no more, then I won’t have any reason. We’ll be a family again, all nice and happy.”

The girl frowned again, shaking her head sharply before pressing her face into her legs. Her voice came out muffled, shaking and scared. “No! You’re lying! You didn’t hurt Casey ‘cuz of the turtles you hurt him ‘cuz you’re not a good dad! I don’t want you to be my dad! I wanna go home, to Master Splinter and to Mister O’Neil! I don’t wanna be here!”

A jolt of anger shot straight through Arnie at that. How dare that rat manipulate his daughter like this? How dare anyone take his kids from him? Didn’t they realize that he was doing all of this for them? Ungrateful little brats, the both of them! Well, he would change that, and he would make sure they both knew full well how much he did for them.

Standing up, he reached to key in the door’s lock, but he didn’t have a chance to even touch the pad as a sharp, sudden jab to the wrist knocked his arm away. Whirling, he found himself staring down three figures, two turtles and his own son.

Casey was staring up at him, wide eyed but furious. So he had survived the fall. But judging from how he held himself, the way he kept one shoulder shied away, he hadn’t walked away from that fight without some injuries of his own.

“Casey!” Shadow had clearly spotted them too, darting to the bars to stare out at them, gripping the door tightly. “Casey! Donnie, Mikey, you guys came!”

“‘Course we did, pipsqueak!” Casey replied, never once taking his eyes off his father. “We’re gonna get you outta there, Shadow, and we’ll get you home. Don’t you worry, okay?”

She nodded a little, still hanging on to the bars so tightly that her knuckles were going white. “Okay, Casey. Kick his butt!”

As they were talking, Donnie was already starting to edge himself to the side, trying to get around so he could pick the lock, hoping his brother and Casey could keep Arnie distracted enough that he wouldn’t have any interference. He was met, however, by Arnie swinging a punch at him, and though he blocked as best he could with his bo, he still went rolling across the floor with a shout.  
Casey immediately bristled. “Donnie-!”

“What’s the matter, Junior?” Arnie growled. “Did I hurt your freak boyfriend? Don’t worry. I’ll make sure I make it quick when I pop him out of his shell.”

Mikey took a few steps back, his own eyes going wide as he spun out his nunchaku. No matter how they handled things now, they were staring down an angry mountain of a man, and even he knew that this couldn’t end well, not with Shadow standing there. It was like Leo said: get Shadow, get out. They didn’t want her to get hurt, or to see anything particularly bad if they could help it.

Both Casey and his brother seemed to realize this, moving so they could spread out more effectively.

“Dudes,” Mikey started, shifting anxiously as they stared down the mountainous man, “we are in some serious trouble here. What’re we gonna do, Donnie?!”

The purple-clad turtle tightened his grip on his bo, swallowing hard. They had a priority and a plan, but right now, Arnie was standing right in the way of both. “I don’t know, Mikey. But whatever it is… let’s hope it works!”


	6. Chapter 6

It was April who first noticed, glancing anxiously at the tracker on her t-phone, that the signal had moved. Shadow’s backpack was no longer in the lower levels of the tower. In fact, it was right next to the tracker Donnie had placed in her sneakers now. That could either be troubling or a good thing, depending on how one viewed it… the signal was higher up. So as they were creeping through an empty area above the throne room, she slipped up beside Leo, gently patting his shoulder with the backs of her fingers.

“Leo, her backpack. It moved.” She held out the phone so he could see, and he blinked a couple times, the white membrane retracting so puzzled blue eyes could focus better on the signal they’d been following. “It looks like it’s above us now.”

Raph frowned, snout scrunching up a bit. “Damn it, they must’ve just moved it while we were bustin’ in. Looks like the others are on the same level, though…”  
April, though, was frowning tightly, and she pressed her fingertips briefly to her temple, gazing upward. “I have a really bad feeling about this. Guys, we need to get up there, and fast.”

They probably would have moved forward, but movement below caught their attention, and Leo’s hand shot out. Nearby, a young man was pacing, wearing Foot Clan garb with his hood pulled back. Well, they needed to know where they were going… and this guy was alone.

Putting up a hand, Leo moved forward before dropping silently behind the young man, one blade out. Whipping it around quickly, he put it to the Foot soldier’s throat, speaking lowly. “Tell me where they’re keeping the girl.”

To his surprise, the young man did not retaliate. He seemed startled, putting his hands up slightly. A new recruit? But he didn’t answer in English.

“S-sumimasen. Wakarimasen. Eigo-ga wakarimasen…”

Leo blinked, but did his best to regain his composure. Briefly, he was relieved they had learned Japanese as children, and he slid easily into his first language, speaking as low and calm as before. “[We’re looking for the little girl. Tell us where she is.]”

“[The girl the dog brought? Yes, she’s upstairs. She seems ill. I can take you to her. I don’t think it’s right to keep a small child captive like this.]”

That only served to confuse Leo further, and he scrunched up his snout as he stepped back, slowly withdrawing his blade. “[You’re very helpful for a Foot clan grunt.]”

Now the young man turned to face him. There was no way he was much older than the turtles themselves. “[Like I said: I don’t think it’s right to keep a small child captive. It’s needlessly cruel. I’ll take you to the girl.]”

He didn’t wait for any kind of response, and he only looked briefly surprised when April and Raph dropped nearby. He just started for a nearby door, his footsteps light and quick, and after a moment or two, it was Raph who spoke up. “[You certainly don’t seem like your average Foot soldier. Are you a spy or something?]”

“[Not a spy. My name is Shiro- Master Shredder has my family under his control. I serve so they’ll remain safe.]”

“[Lousy way to be, Shiro,]” Leo mumbled, moving as quick and quiet as he could. “[You seem like a good guy.]”

The young man shrugged, leading them to a staircase that looked to be fairly unused, judging by the dust gathered. He didn’t answer, however, and as they hurried up the stairs, April lifted her head. “Guys, what’s he saying?”

“He’s takin’ us to Shadow,” Raph replied lowly. “Or at least I hope he is. I don’t like to make it a practice of outright trusting Foot lackeys, but this is the quickest way we’ve got. And if he turns on us, well, more for punching.”

April frowned a bit, shifting her gaze onto the young man hurrying up the stairs ahead of him. Her eyes narrowed as she seemed to focus for a few moments, but at last, she shook her head, fists tightening.

“Well I can’t sense anything bad. I don’t think he’s going to betray us. But all we have to go on right now is hope…”

* * *

Facing off against Arnie Jones was not exactly at the top of the list of things Casey would have wanted to do on a given day. His father was a powerhouse, even half drunk, and now that he was sober under the Shredder’s control, he was even worse.

But he kept his hands clenched tightly on the hockey stick, eyes narrowed behind his mask, trying to breathe as steadily as he could. Treat him like someone else on the ice, he reminded himself. He’s not your dad. He’s not worth that honor. He’s someone to check into the boards and move on from. He’s an obstacle. Nothing more.

It was so hard to keep that in mind, however, as the big man cracked his neck, curling up his lip. “So you finally got the balls to come after me, boy? Or am I speakin’ too soon, seein’ as how you’ve got your pet freaks to back you up. Why don’t you stop bein’ a dumbass and listen to your old man for a change-”

“Just shut up!” Casey had to fight to shout through gritted teeth, years of pain and neglect boiling up at every word Arnie spat at him. “You don’t got a right to call yourself my old man. I don’t know what Mom ever saw in you, but I’m startin’ to think she didn’t know who you really were. You may’ve put on a game face for her, but I know what you’re like now. I’m not comin’ back. You’re not my dad. And you’re never gonna get anywhere near Shadow again, not now and not ever!”

Behind him, both Mikey and Donnie straightened, weapons at the ready. As Casey spoke, it was obvious Arnie was getting fed up, and the last would seemed to be the final straw. Arnie bull rushed the trio in that moment, roaring his fury at a battered son who refused to take any more of his abuse. He may not have had his father’s brute strength, but Casey was definitely quicker, kicking out the rollerblades hidden in his shoes to skate out of the way, swinging out the hockey stick to tangle the older man’s legs and send him crashing down.

His feint was only partially successful. While Arnie stumbled, he recovered fairly easily, taking a swing at the nearest turtle to him. Donnie reacted on instinct, slipping to the side and deflecting with his bo just as the fist was nearing his face.

“We’ve faced guys tougher than this!” Mikey was saying, moving easily from side to side as his eyes remained focused on their opponent. “He’s just a big bully! And you guys know what they say… the bigger they are, the harder they fall!”

Casey cursed, ducking under another of his father’s swings, casting a sour look over toward his younger friend. “Easy for you to say, Mike! C’mon, we gotta make this quick!”

It was as the massive man made a move to charge again that the door to the stairwell burst open, and Leo, Raph, and April - led by the young Japanese man - came bursting in. Shadow could be heard cheering as soon as they appeared, and Arnie scowled in their direction, curling his lip back. “Should’ve known you’d play dirty. Learn that from that freak that came to the place? Guess I gotta teach you damn kids some manners.”

Casey was closest, and before he even had a chance to react, the bigger man’s fist slammed hard into his chest, sending him doubling over as he skidded back into a nearby wall. Shadow’s shriek of dismay was louder than his pained cry, and April lept to help him, putting herself between Casey, the bars, and Arnie.

Much to the turtles’ surprise, Shiro quickly moved to their aid, slipping quickly under Arnie’s arm to grab the key he had been trying to get to in the first place. He wasted no time, and as the turtles moved to intercept the angry behemoth of a man, the human ninja hurried to April and Casey, reaching over to drop the key into April’s hand.

She stared at him for a moment, and he nodded frantically at the cell. April only stood still for a moment longer before nodding, and as she turned to unlock the door, the young man threw himself back into the fray.

“We can’t keep the fight up here,” Leo was saying, sliding neatly under one of Arnie’s powerful punches. “We need to get Shadow to safety and get out of here!”

Donnie snorted, moving to his brother’s side to deflect another punch with his bo. “Easy for you to say. This guy’s a tank!”

“And we gotta make it fast, too.” This from Mikey, who was nearest the door. “I hear footsteps, and they don’t sound friendly!”

For Arnie Jones, Sr., this was the moment he needed. As he heard the cell door swing open, he took the moment of distraction to instead charge in that direction, shoving April out of the way just as his free hand shot into the cell to grab Shadow by the arm, and before anyone could stop him, he’d shoved his way out the door, hauling the screaming girl along with him.

Casey grunted, gasping as he regained his wind and forced himself to stand straight, bolting after him. “Shadow! NO! Get back here-!”

There was no stopping him as he barrelled through the door, hot on his father’s heels. He was letting nothing slow him down, nearly slamming into a wall as he bolted past three more figures who were on their way up to check on the commotion.

Tiger Claw entered the room first, staring at the group as they had turned to follow Arnie and Casey down the stairs. For a moment, he stood in silence, before a snarl overtook his expression and he reached for his sword. “Turtles! Destroy them!”

Seeing the massive tiger, as well as Rahzar and Fishface, Leo groaned, dropping back into a ready stance. “Mikey, Donnie, go after Casey! We’ve got this!”

The pair hesitated, but only a moment or so longer, and then they slipped quickly past the new assailants and off down the stairs, following the angry shouts from further down. April huffed, taking a step or two back. “I hope they stay safe…”

* * *

It had been a long time since Casey’s anger had been directed at something he knew was the culprit. So often after he’d started sneaking out to do vigilante work, it was to blow off steam after another argument, or to let loose some of the aggression that had been let loose on him. He’d never been able to focus on his father. Focus on the man who’d left so many bruises, physical and emotional. But there he stood, ten paces away, one arm around Shadow’s shoulders, holding the squirming girl tightly.

“Shadow! You hang in there, okay? I’m gonna take care of this and then we’re goin’ home!”

For what it was worth, Shadow - despite the fear he could see written on her round little face - was pulling up all the courage she could muster. “I- I’m okay, Casey! I promise! Get him!”

When Arnie gave her a shake, Casey felt his blood boil.

“You shut up, Gabby. I’m gonna deal with this… once and for all!”

So this was it.

Standing here high above the mutagen vat, breathing heavily, his body aching and sore… Casey wasn’t about to give in. They had given back every bit as good as they’d gotten, but now… now it was down to the wire.

Arnie had straightened, wiping blood from his lip with the back of his free hand, a deep scowl creasing his brow. But he stayed focused on the dark eyed boy across the walkway. “This is your last chance, Junior,” he was saying, cracking his neck. He always cracked his neck before throwing a punch. Before every bruise and split lip Casey had ever endured. “You walk away from these freaks now, maybe I’ll go easy on you.”

“Like hell, old man. I’m done taking this crap from you.” The younger Jones spat blood. Everything felt raw and open, from his broken nose to fresh bruises and strains. But he had never backed down from a fight before. He hadn’t when they had come here tonight, and he wasn’t going to start now. “I’m taking Shadow, and I’m goin’ back with the family that actually cares about us. You can just go straight to hell!”

His words seemed to light a fire in Shadow, and before he could blink, she’d bitten down hard on Arnie’s arm. The massive man let out an enraged shout, all but flinging her back. Shadow shrieked when she was let go, rolling before she came to a stop on her back. She was starting to get up, shaking, but Casey…

Casey was through.

He lunged, ignoring Donnie and Mikey yelling for him to stop as they came barreling down the passageway behind him, despite his own body screaming that he was at his limit. Mikey had blown past him, leaping over Arnie to get to where Shadow had fallen. If he was taking care of her, then he could focus entirely on the monster in front of him.

All he could think about was his little sister, shaking and scared on the walkway as Mikey hurried to her side.

Shadow was eight, with thick dark brown hair down to her waist and bangs cropped straight across at her brow, making it all the more obvious when she narrowed those wide blue eyes to glare at someone. Freckles were spattered across round cheeks, and she had a little mouth that pursed up to one side just like his when she was mad. She had just lost the top two front baby teeth, and the new teeth were just coming in.

She liked kittens and frogs and mud puddles, rainbows and hockey and green hair ribbons. The stuffed puppy toy she kept on her pillow was named Jelly Bean. Her trapper keeper had a picture of the tortoise her second grade class kept as a pet the year before, right next to the tarantula her third grade class had now.

She wanted to donate her hair to Wigs for Kids.

Gabrielle Jones had a heart big enough for the whole world, and Arnold Casey Jones, Jr. would no longer let her endure the hell they had at home.

Arnie’s first swing missed, going wide as Casey ducked under it, and the momentum made him unable to dodge when Casey swung the bat he kept in the duffel across his back, catching him hard right in the gut. The big man immediately tried to move to the side, but he misjudged the distance he had left, and his foot just missed the lip of the platform on which they stood.

He fell first, but he managed to catch Casey’s pants leg as he went down. The senior Jones caught an outcrop several feet down, but Casey - through what grace he did not know - caught hold of the lip of the first platform, and he felt a searing pain in his shoulders as he struggled to pull himself back up.

Glancing down as Donnie hurried to help him up, he saw Arnie struggling to get a good grip. If he let go…

The only thing to break his fall would be the vat of mutagen far below.

Casey felt something clench in his gut, a sudden wave of fear. He had made a promise to his mother, as she lay dying in that hospice. He had told her he would protect his family, take care of his father and sister. He had tried so hard to keep that promise, enduring his father’s verbal tirades and physical outbursts. He had protected his little sister, took the brunt of their father’s rage to keep her from feeling the effects.

How had he failed her this badly?

A gasp tore from his throat when he felt hands on his arms hauling him up, and for a moment he struggled, instinct driving him to at least try to save the man that had sired him. That had given him a good home for so many years before his descent into the bottom of a bottle. But he could hear Donnie’s voice over his head. “Casey- Casey, hold still! We’re gonna pull you up! Let him go, Casey- Casey, Shadow needs you!”

His words seemed to snap the boy out of his brief panic, and he let himself go slack, letting the two younger turtles drag him onto the platform as below, they could hear Arnold Casey Jones, Sr. let out a howl of rage as he lost his grip, and the wet, strangely goopy splash of his body hitting the mutagen below.

“Dee… do you think he made it?” Mikey asked quietly, shifting slightly where he was helping Shadow up onto his shoulders, glancing past Casey to the sloshing green ooze in the tank. “Maybe he’ll end up like-”

His older brother immediately cut him off, his voice somewhat sharper than he’d probably intended at first. “We’ll check in a minute, Mike- call the others and let them know it’s done. Arnie Senior fell into the mutagen. We won’t know until he comes out the bottom what even happened to him.”

Casey cringed, setting his jaw as he turned to look over the ledge. He tried to look angry and hard, but at the moment… he just felt tired. Alone. His gaze shifted briefly to his little sister. She was watching him with those round blue eyes, tears rolling down her cheeks, as she held to Mikey’s arm like a vice. Anything to keep herself solid, grounded, and as brave as she could be under the sudden, awful circumstances they found themselves in now. “I dunno. Guess we’ll find out in a minute.” Frowning tightly, he gave himself a full body shake, mostly to see if anything was broken. “Mikey… take care of Shadow, okay? I’m gonna go have a look.”

He didn’t wait for any of them to object, pushing himself to his feet to trot down the nearby metal stairs, ignoring the little shocks of pain that shot through him with each step. He’d be feeling this fight for weeks.

The lower area of the facility was devoid of anything at the moment, though the glowing green goop in the clear vat above his head did appear to be churning. He stood transfixed, perfectly still even as Donnie and Mikey hurried down to join him. Already Donnie was on his way over to a console, brow furrowed deeply as he brought up a diagnostic screen.

“It looks like the last thing entered is… a domesticated male Bos taurus. Possibly a meat breed from the looks of it… and a big one, at that.”

Mikey scrunched up his nose a bit at that, tipping his head to one side. “A what now?”

“A bull. Probably one from a domesticated breed raised for meat production. So if bull DNA was added to this vat…”

Now Casey moved forward, bat clenched tightly in his hands. “Then Dad isn’t gonna be himself anymore when he gets out of there.”

It was as if his words triggered something. Something, the ooze being suctioned off it by hoses as it was dropped from the tank, had landed in some sort of cage nearby. It was massive, bigger than Arnie by more than half, with broad horns and shoulders. And when it whipped its head to look at them, while the face may not have been familiar, it stared at them with fury and recognition in its eyes.

“You… you brats… did this to me…!”

Mikey was gaping from his spot on the platform, moving Shadow behind him, his eyes wide. “Whoa-! Get a load of Groundchuck over there!”

Donnie was moving back as well at this point, though the lanky turtle kept close to Casey as he could, bo up and at the ready. “Now’s not the time, Mikey!”

The beast that was once Arnie had shaken himself off as he stood, groaning in anger and the pain that undoubtedly accompanied his transformation. Casey remained stock still in front of his friends, dark eyes wide as he tried to make sense of what was happening here. For all his anger and resentment at his father’s behavior over the last few years… this… he could never have prepared himself for this.

He would have stood perfectly still in the path of the raging bull, even as Arnie charged, but Donnie’s reflexes were much quicker, and he tackled Casey out of the way to avoid the newly mutated elder Jones’s wide, sharp horns. Already the genius’s brain was racing, dragging Casey back to his feet.

“We need to get in touch with the others and get out of here, before old Arnie Sr.-”

“Groundchuck!”

“Right, whatever-! Before he stomps us into the pavement!”

Casey gave himself a shake as he was pulled to his feet. Like it or not, Donnie was right. The thought seemed to shake him out of his stupor, and he rolled his shoulders as his eyes narrowed. “You guys call the others, and get Shadow out of here. The old man’s moving slower than he used to, so I’ll distract him.”

Donnie’s head whipped around immediately, brown eyes wide. “Are you out of your mind, Casey?!”

The teen just shot his friend a lopsided grin, shrugging. “Did a long time ago, Dee!”

He didn’t have much of a chance to charge forward, however. Before he could even move, there was a shout from above, and a blur of green landed squarely on the mutant bull’s shoulders, hands grabbing onto the horns as he held on when the enraged beast began to writhe and buck. It was Leo, hanging on for all he was worth, trying to wear the mutant out.

“Guys-! Whoa! Guys, a little help?!”

The tableau broken, the three other boys rushed forward, feinting and dodging to draw Groundchuck’s attention as his rage grew slower and slower. Donnie sucked in a deep breath, ducking low under a punch. “It’s working! If we can wear him down enough, we can get out of here!”

Casey’s face paled briefly, even as he skated back, eyes wide. “Where’s Raph and April?!”

“On their way down!” came Leo’s reply. He had doubled down on his stance, his arms wrapped around the bull’s horns to pull his head back hard. “Come on, let’s just focus on taking him out so we can get out of here!”

“Not with Shadow in here!” Casey’s eyes shot up to the platform again, fixing on Mikey as Leo continued to try to wear the bull out. “Call them and get Shadow out! Make sure she’s safe, okay?!”

Mikey snapped his head up and down once in a quick nod, scooping Shadow up onto his shell. “You got it, Casey! C’mon, Shads; we gotta move!”

Their efforts doubled down as he rushed up toward a window to escape, with Casey skating quickly just outside the bull’s reach as Donnie and Leo traded blows with him, in constant motion until finally, the mutant sagged to his knees panting. The remaining two turtles had gone to retreat, but Casey stood in silence for a moment longer, staring at the man he had once called father.

His chest hurt. Looking down at him, seeing him like this… he almost wanted to find some way to help. Three years of pain may have taken a firm hold, but he couldn’t exactly stop the good memories either.

“...Dad…”

“Should’ve known the day you were born you weren’t worth shit, you ungrateful brat,” the bull retorted, snorting. “Should’ve told her we didn’t need kids. Gabby was the only one worth anything…”

The teen’s shoulders tightened, and he swallowed hard against a pang of anger in his gut. His resolve was solidified, but as easy as it would be to end it… he could always do one more solid. For his mother. “Nah. I’m worth way more’n you ever will be. May be a screw-up, but I’m a screw-up with friends. And a better family than you ever were.”

Rearing back, he brought his hockey stick down hard on Groundchuck’s head, watching a moment longer as he sagged to the ground unconscious. Then, with a hard sniff, he turned to head after his friends.

* * *

It was such a relief when he skated outside to find Shadow standing anxiously between Raph, Mikey, and April, but the girl broke away from them immediately when she saw her older brother, and he sank to his knees to catch her in a hug when she threw herself at him. “Hey there, squirt. It’s okay. We’re okay now.”

As he was hugging his sister, Leo and Donnie moved forward toward the others, and April frowned, looking to the Jones siblings before back at the trio. “Well…? Mikey was telling us what… what happened. To Arnie.”

“He’s not gonna be bothering Casey and Shadow anymore.” When April’s eyes widened at his words, Leo quickly put up his hands. “Not like that. Mikey probably told you, but he fell into a vat of mutagen. Came out as this… creepy mutant bull. I don’t think he’s gonna be in any place to make demands of the child welfare department. And we wore him down enough that we’ll be able to get back without anyone following us.”

Raph scowled, folding his arms tightly across his chest. “Good riddance. After all he did to Casey and Shadow, that’s the least he deserves. But… what do we do now?”

“Well, the good thing is, Casey and Shadow were already out of the home when he went missing. If and when a missing persons report is filed, it really just looks like old Arnie picked up and left.” Though his words were firm, Donnie looked unsure, glancing at the pair as they spoke quietly to one another. “He won’t stop being a problem for all of us in general, though. Since he’s a mutant now, he’s definitely still under the Shredder’s control. Which means he’ll still be trying to rake us over at every opportunity. He’s just bigger and stronger than he was before.”

Leo nodded sharply. “Which means we’ll have to be on our toes. But at least for now… it’s done.”

As their conversation was wrapping up, Casey and Shadow had both stood, with Casey’s hand wrapped loosely around his little sister’s. He looked exhausted, but some of his usual cockiness was shining through, and while Shadow’s eyes were red and her cheeks damp, she looked as focused and determined as they’d ever seen the little girl.

“So… looks like we’ll be okay. Can’t say I’m happy about the outcome. I mean… I’m happy we won’t be dealing with the old man anymore, but…”

Shadow’s hand tightened on his, and she ducked her head slightly, brow furrowing as she gave a quiet little frown. “...Daddy’s really not coming back, is he? I saw him down there, but it wasn’t him. So he’s gonna stay like that forever, right?”

The looks shared throughout the group were uneasy. She was a smart girl, and at eight was definitely old enough to understand what was going on around her. But this whole summer had been so hard on her…

It was April who finally crouched in front of her, reaching out to quietly take her free hand. “Probably, sweetie. But you’ve got all of us now, and you’ve got Casey. We’re a family. And we’re gonna stick together. We’ll be okay. Okay?”

Slowly, Shadow nodded, her small fingers curling around April as she looked around at the turtles, then back at her older brother. “...is the boy that helped me okay?”

“The… boy that helped you?”

“Uh-huh. He spoke Japanese and he brought me my backpack so I could get my inhaler.”

Leo perked right up at that, holding up one finger. “Oh yeah! That Foot soldier that helped us out on our way up to the tower cells! He made tracks after helping us with Rahzar, Fishface, and Tiger Claw. Wherever he is, I hope he’s all right.”

“I don’t think we’ve seen the last of him.” Raph glanced up at the building as he spoke, scrunching up his snout. “Eh… no use dwelling on it right now. How ‘bout we get some pizza? Shadow’s gotta be half starved, and we could all use a little unwind time.”

He didn’t wait for Casey to answer, leaning down to scoop Shadow up onto her shoulders. The movement startled her, but she broke into giggles a moment later, putting her hands on top of his head. It seemed the girl was just as happy for the distraction as the others were. “Yes! Pizza time! Casey! Casey come on we’re gonna have pizza!”

As he started off toward the nearest manhole cover, the other turtles trailing in tow, April stood next to Casey, reaching out to put a hand on his arm. “...hey. Are you gonna be okay?”

He shrugged, folding his arms, though he didn’t pull away. “Dunno yet, Red. But… well, at least all this crap is over, so… I guess that’s a start.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter, I apologize, but this was always planned to be the wrap-up! Anyway, this is DONE and I can finally move on to the next story! Thanks for sticking with me!

**Author's Note:**

> Shadow Jones, art by me:  
> 


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